Russian war crimes in Ukraine: Systematic torture and executions

The press service of the 118th Independent Mechanised Brigade published a video showing three Russian soldiers walking in single file in a field. The Ukrainian FPV drone operator hit the middle one. Then, the man behind him approached the wounded soldier and shot him in the head from close range before moving on without looking back.

- Without assessing the injuries, the occupier shot his comrade and fled. It's surprising how simply, even cold-bloodedly, it was done – said Lt. Dmytro Pelich, the brigade's press officer.

After publishing the recording, Russian social media channels read: "Good, he didn't suffer", "He won't be a burden during the assault", or "The family will get more than for a wounded person, and they would have had to take care of a cripple."

This is not the first instance of such behaviour. The Russians have previously been finishing off the wounded, both their own and Ukrainians. In 2023, the world saw an 11-second video in which the Russians murdered Ukrainian soldier Tymofii Shadura. He was ordered to remove the logo with the Ukrainian flag. He responded: "Glory to Ukraine." After these words, a burst of fire follows, and in the background, someone can be heard shouting: "Die, bastard!" And another soldier's voice, softly: "What 'Glory to Ukraine'.

Cruelty is ingrained in Russian culture, like matryoshkas or balalaikas. A Russian white officer told the famous writer Maxim Gorky that "(…) what's the point in killing a Russian? There are so many of them that you wouldn't even notice if some went missing. Look at those villages: they can disappear from the face of the earth whenever we want, what are they needed for? Besides, let the devil take all our peasants and our entire affairs".

Gorky himself wrote "that the most striking feature of the Moscow national character is cruelty, just like humour is to the English".

Stanisław Brzozowski wrote in his 1908 novel "Flames": "Human life was never sacred to any government, especially here! Here in Russia (...), you can do anything to a person: take them into the army for 35 years, kill them with clubs. (...). Power did not allow dignity to develop, and so these people live continuously wronged, surrounded by injustice, it becomes a part of them".

Little has changed since the revolution, the civil war, and wars with all neighbours. When the Bolsheviks began spreading their "culture" among the Russian peasants, misunderstood freedom led to brutalisation. It was enough to show who the enemy was. It could be anyone more educated and wealthier than them, a factory owner, priest, or tsarist officer. They were all enemies of the revolution and could be killed in any way. Such was the fate of many captains en route to Murman – arrested, beaten, and shot without trial.

On the other hand, as I wrote in "Baska Murmanska and the Lions of the North", "Cheka officers specialised in inflicting pain, torturing and killing prisoners. Local committees developed specific and uniquely attributed methods of torturing and killing prisoners. Chekists in Kharkiv scalded the victims' hands with boiling water like tomatoes. As with tomatoes, the skin could be easily peeled off. The tortured were left with bare, stripped to the muscle, bleeding hands, while the torturers got gloves made from already processed, soft human skin".

To this day, little has changed. Similar methods have been observed during the current war in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian General Prosecutor's Office is conducting 27 criminal proceedings regarding the torture and execution of 54 Ukrainian prisoners of war. According to Prosecutor General Yuriy Belousov, executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war have been recorded since March 2022.

- The court has already sentenced the first Russian soldier for shooting a defender in the Chernihiv region. The investigation is complicated by the fact that prosecutors and investigators generally do not have access to the crime scene or the possibility to examine the bodies – said Yuriy Belousov at a press conference.

The UN Observation Mission has prepared reports confirming that this winter, Russian soldiers murdered at least 32 Ukrainian prisoners of war. Observers stress that this is significantly more than in previous periods, and the number of such incidents is increasing since more pardoned criminals have joined the front lines.

The last documented incident took place on 7 April near Krynky, where Russians shot three unarmed prisoners. The report was not discussed in the UN forum. The initiation of the procedure is blocked... by Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council. Similarly, the discussion on the torture of prisoners was blocked.

In a survey conducted by the UN Mission for Monitoring Human Rights in Ukraine, every Ukrainian prisoner admitted to being tortured. Most of them have lasting health impairments. Furthermore, 101 prisoners of war were raped.

In Ukrainian courts, there are 365 cases against individuals suspected of committing war crimes. So far, one Russian soldier has been convicted. On the international forum, Kyiv continues to face resistance. Russian veto power blocks every initiative.