Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office announced Monday that it was investigating the possible execution of unarmed Ukrainian soldiers by Russian forces in the eastern Donetsk region.
Drone footage published by the pro-Ukraine DeepState military portal, which maps the front line and the locations of Russian forces, shows what was claimed to be Russian troops ordering a group of Ukrainian soldiers to drop their weapons and lie face-down on the ground.
Toward the end of the video, which The Moscow Times could not independently verify, the soldiers said to be from Russia's Armed Forces appeared to shoot the prostrate soldiers.
“The military of the aggressor state deliberately killed and wounded unarmed Ukrainian soldiers, ignoring the norms of international humanitarian law,” Ukrainian prosecutors said in a statement.
The law enforcement body said it launched an investigation into the violation of the laws and customs of war and premeditated murder.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the incident occurred on the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion near the city of Bakhmut, which Moscow captured last year.
DeepState said that the unarmed soldiers in the drone footage who were believed to have been killed may be part of the Ukrainian Ground Forces’ 92nd Assault Brigade.
Since Moscow launched its invasion, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office has launched 19 criminal proceedings over the killing of 45 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Bakhmut, a town that was once home to around 70,000 people, was captured by Russian forces in May following one of the longest and bloodiest battles of Russia's invasion.
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