Ukrainian officials say intercepted Russian radio transmissions provide chilling evidence that Russian commanders ordered their troops to execute surrendering Ukrainian soldiers – if proved is a violation of international law that is now under formal investigation.
The recordings, shared with CNN by a Ukrainian intelligence source, appear to match with drone footage obtained in November 2024 in the Zaporizhzhia region, where six Ukrainian soldiers were seen lying face down.
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The images showed at least two of the troops being shot at close range, and another being led away by a Russian soldier in what officials describe as a suspected war crime.
According to a transcript of the intercepted communications, a Russian commander is heard issuing the execution order multiple times over a 26-minute period. The first command comes at 12:22 p.m. local time:
“Ask who is the commander. Who is the commander? Ask. Take the commander captive and kill everyone else.”
Four minutes later, the order is repeated twice:
“You do it. Take the commander captive, f* off the others.”**
“That’s it. Take the senior, get rid the f* of the others!”**
The commander, whose identity has not been confirmed, grows increasingly impatient as his soldiers struggle to respond.
“Someone, b**, answer, are the f*ers surrendering or not?” he says.
The Russian soldier with the callsign “Arta” eventually responds, saying they have not found a Ukrainian commander, only a “senior.”
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At 12:28 p.m., another order comes through:
“Get the f* out! Take the senior, get rid of the others, f***!”**
Moments later, a drone camera captures a masked soldier in dark green uniform, consistent with Russian military gear, emerging from a tree line and approaching the captives. One Ukrainian soldier appears to gesture before being shot in the head. Another, motionless until then, removes his body armor and is led away.
The Russian commander then asks for confirmation:
“Did you take them down? A question. Did you take them down?”
“Arta! Arta! I’m Beliy, roger that!” another soldier replies.
“We killed the f*ing others.”**
Shortly afterward, smoke from an explosion appears on the footage, and a drone rises into view. The commander, seemingly alarmed, orders his unit to retreat.
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) identified the Russian unit involved as the “Storm unit” of the 394th Motorized Rifle Regiment, part of Moscow’s 127th Motorized Rifle Division.
Ukrainian prosecutors have linked the same unit to the beheading of a Ukrainian soldier in the same area and have charged Russian commanders from that unit in absentia.
A forensic audio expert consulted by CNN said the recordings appeared authentic and had shown no evidence of editing.
While CNN could not independently confirm the link between the audio and the drone footage, experts said the timeline and content strongly match the events shown on the video.
Morris Tidball-Binz, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, told CNN the incident suggests a deliberate policy.
“These are grave breaches of international law,” he said. “They would not happen at this scale without orders – or at least consent – from the highest levels of the Russian military, which means the Presidency.”
As at May 5, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office has launched 75 criminal investigations into the execution of 268 prisoners of war. Officials say the cases are rising year by year — with only eight cases in 2022 but 39 in 2024 and alrea20 new cases have been opened this year.
Yurii Bielousov, head of the war crimes department in the prosecutor’s office, told CNN oral orders from senior Russian commanders are believed to be driving the trend.
“Putin said Ukrainian soldiers captured in Russia should be treated as terrorists,” Bielousov said. “And we all know what that means in Russian terms – it’s a green light to kill them.”
In the past, Moscow has denied committing war crimes and claimed its military follows international law on the treatment of prisoners.
Ukrainian officials say the killings may also be motivated by a desire to avoid the logistical burden of holding prisoners.
“It complicates their operations,” said Bohdan Okhrimenko, a Ukrainian official involved in POW affairs.
“So the Russian command made a simple decision – shoot [any] prisoners.”
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