Russian soldiers execute four Ukrainian prisoners of war
Photo: Russians once again executed Ukrainian prisoners of war (Getty Images)
Russian soldiers executed four Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered. The brutal act was captured by drones, according to Associated Press News and a statement from Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Heorhii Tykhyi.
The incident occurred in the village of Piatykhatky in southern Ukraine. The Ukrainian prisoners, under gunpoint, exited a destroyed house, raised their hands in surrender, and lay face down in the grass.
The situation was recorded by both Ukrainian and Russian drones, which captured the scene from above. Associated Press obtained both videos, which present significantly different versions of what happened next.
The video received by AP from European military officials shows Russian soldiers, identifiable by their uniform insignia, raising their weapons and shooting each of the four Ukrainian soldiers in the back with such brutality that one man was left without a head.
Instead, the video of the Russian drone that the AP posted on pro-Kremlin social media suddenly cuts off with men lying on the ground.
Rollo Collins from the Center for Information Resilience, a London-based organization, stated that this is not the only such execution recorded since late 2023.
"Out of all the executions that we’ve seen since late 2023, it’s one of the clearest cases. This is not a typical combat killing. This is an illegal action," he emphasized.
Ukraine reacts to execution of POWs in Piatykhatky
"Disturbing video from The Associated Press. Russian occupiers executed four Ukrainian prisoners of war after they surrendered. These executions have become systematic, yet each one shocks with its brutality," emphasized the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
Tykhyi stressed that each execution further proves that Ukraine is dealing with savages.
"Those executions not only show that we are facing savages. They also demonstrate that the Russian army is a collection of degenerates. They lack basic discipline, as a disciplined army does not execute prisoners of war - it goes against military logic," he explained.
At the same time, the spokesperson highlighted that this is a war crime that must be investigated, including by the International Criminal Court.
"All those responsible must be held accountable. We also thank AP for their excellent journalistic work that exposes how the Russians fabricate videos to cover up their atrocities. We must not allow them to evade responsibility," the Foreign Ministry spokesperson concluded.
Executions of Ukrainian POWs
Earlier, Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets revealed that in 2024 alone, Ukraine officially confirmed the execution of 109 Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian forces.
According to him, in previous years, over 170 cases of Russian troops killing Ukrainian servicemen have been documented.
In February 2025, a video surfaced online showing the execution of Ukrainian soldiers who had been captured by Russian forces in Russia’s Kursk region.
The footage shows a Russian soldier deliberately shooting a Ukrainian POW in the head. According to one Ukrainian serviceman, the victims were fighters from the 82nd Brigade.
