Video Footage Shows Russians Killing Surrendering Ukrainians

Three Ukrainian soldiers stagger into the middle of a dusty track, then drop to their knees, hands on their heads.

The exclusive video appears to depict the execution of three surrendering Ukrainian troops by Russian forces after their trench was overrun. I Photo: Володимир Зеленський

Moments later, drone footage shows them lying face down, motionless, with dust swirling around them, Nick Paton Walsh, Kostya Gak, Victoria Butenko, and Muhammad Darwish reported for CNN.

The exclusive video, filmed during fighting in late August near the embattled city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, appears to depict the execution of three surrendering Ukrainian troops by Russian forces after their trench was overrun.

A Ukrainian official, who asked for certain details to be withheld to protect the identity of the unit involved, described this incident as part of a growing pattern of apparent executions by Russian forces.

Ukrainian defense intelligence has provided CNN with a list of 15 such incidents since November, many supported by drone video or audio intercepts, where surrendering Ukrainian soldiers were killed rather than taken prisoner.

Ukraine’s prosecutor general is investigating 28 such cases since the war began, in which 62 Ukrainian servicemen are believed to have died. The footage from the Pokrovsk region underscores the brutal tactics employed by Russian forces as they continue their offensive in eastern Ukraine.