Steep rise in Russian executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war

KYIV: Executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Vladimir Putin’s forces have surged this year, with a top Kyiv official warning it could indicate a shift in Russian policy.

Some 80 per cent of the 93 prisoner executions recorded since the start of the war took place this year, Yuriy Belousov, the head of the prosecutor-general’s office, revealed on local TV.

Gruesome videos and photos that appear to show the killings are often circulated by war bloggers and Telegram accounts, becoming vital evidence for Ukraine’s investigations.

In a video circulated last week, a shirtless man kneels in a grave while being pushed around by a figure wearing a Russian military uniform with Wagner PMC patches.

A knife is pointed at his throat and he is forced to say: “Thank you, Uncle Zhenya Prigozhin, for raising such guys.” Prigozhin was the head of Russia’s infamous state-funded private military company Wagner, who died in a plane crash last year.

A second clip appears to show the back of the same man, shirtless and in army-green shorts, in a field. The person filming declares the man is “sentenced to death” in the name of the Russian Federation, before two people open fire.

The Telegraph has not been able to independently verify the videos but Ukrainian authorities said they were investigating.

Last week, the prosecutor-general’s office announced it had opened an investigation into the “largest mass execution” since the start of the war, after 16 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed in Donetsk.

Unverified videos appear to show captured Ukrainian soldiers emerging from a forested area and lining up, before Russian forces open fire. Russian soldiers then approach the wounded and shoot them again at close range.