Video footage of captured and executed Russian servicemen in Makiivka, Lugansk region, which appeared online, is genuine, the location of the filming was confirmed by The New York Times (NYT), comparing the video with satellite images from Maxar Technologies, as well as footage from drones.
The execution took place when the Armed Forces of Ukraine recaptured the village of Makeevka in the Luhansk region. The NYT writes that the position of the yard, house, sheds and fences in the videos published online matches their position on satellite images.
The video of the servicemen was filmed by an unnamed Ukrainian soldier, and drone footage allegedly taken by Ukrainian forces was also posted online. The publication confirmed that both videos were filmed in the same courtyard.
Physicians for Human Rights medical adviser Dr. Rohini Haar stated that most of the servicemen, according to the video, were shot in the head:
“There are pools of blood. This indicates that they were simply left there dead. There didn't seem to be any effort to pick them up or help them."
According to her, when the soldiers surrendered and lay, probably without weapons, with their arms outstretched or raised behind their heads, they were already considered “incapacitated” – in fact, prisoners of war.
Iva Vukusic, an expert in the prosecution of war crimes at the University of Utrecht, said it was difficult to determine whether a war crime had been committed based on video evidence alone. The decisive factor is the time when the Russians were shot – immediately after one of the Russian soldiers opened fire, or after that, after the immediate threat was neutralized. In the latter case, it is more likely a war crime, Vukusic assured. She also claims that if the Russians were shot in the heat of the moment, this is not a clear crime.
“If these prisoners of war have not yet been searched, then the Ukrainians do not know if they are armed, even if they are lying on the ground.”
The actions of the Russian soldier, according to Vukusic, are also crucial and could be considered a feigned capitulation or non-combat status as a ploy against the Ukrainians. This can be regarded as a war crime in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, the expert explained.
On November 18, pro-Russian Telegram channels published a video in which the Ukrainian military allegedly takes soldiers in Russian uniforms prisoner. Another video was also published, filmed from the same place where the corpses of captured soldiers lie on the ground. The Russian Ministry of Defense, based on the records, accused the Armed Forces of Ukraine of war crimes. The agency called it "massive massacre by Ukrainian servicemen over unarmed Russian prisoners of war." The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on the murder and ill-treatment of Russian prisoners of war on the territory of the “LPR”.