Russia’s Cold-blooded Murders in Ukraine, Daily Brief May 2, 2024

“Take no prisoners, shoot everyone,” the voice says in the video over and over.

He’s giving commands to four Russian soldiers in a forested area, seen from a drone above. One of the Russian soldiers nears the entrance of a dugout where two Ukrainian soldiers are positioned. The first Ukrainian soldier begins to emerge cautiously with a second Ukrainian soldier close behind, while the Russian soldier observes.

About seven seconds later, the Russian soldier starts shooting, causing both Ukrainian soldiers to collapse. The first Ukrainian soldier lies motionless on the ground. The second crawls back into the dugout.

The voice commands: “Guys, kill everyone, the second [Ukrainian soldier] is wounded, shoot him from atop, shoot him, take no prisoners.”

A Russian soldier throws a grenade into the dugout the Ukrainian had crawled into.

The voice then says: “Grenade, well done, here you go. And the second one was finished too, well done, guys.” 

This is video footage from a Russian drone. It’s the Russians’ recording of their own operations – and recording someone apparently ordering soldiers to commit atrocities. It was posted to a Telegram channel that supports the Russian side in the war.  

Our experts examined this video and found no evidence it had been tampered with. It’s likely as real as it is disturbing. And it’s just one such incident of several Human Rights Watch has documented in a new report, released today.  

In another case, verified drone footage shows at least seven Ukrainian soldiers exiting a dugout as Russian soldiers aim their guns at them. The Ukrainians remove their body armor, and at least one soldier removes their helmet. They lie face down. Then, Russian soldiers open fire on them. 

The summary execution of surrendering and injured soldiers is expressly forbidden under international humanitarian law. Quite simply, it’s cold-blooded murder. 

Such documented incidents are part of the ever-growing list of Russian atrocities in Ukraine. We need to see another list start growing now: that of perpetrators brought to justice.