Russian troops execute wounded Ukrainian soldier in Donetsk region

According to the analytical platform DeepState, the soldier was reportedly shot by troops from Russia’s 144th Motor Rifle Division.

The occupying Russian forces published footage of assault operations near the village. In one segment of the video, two Russian soldiers are seen shooting a Ukrainian serviceman who has green tape on his helmet. The footage shows that the soldier appears to be wounded and still alive—but the attackers execute him.

This is not the first instance of Russian forces executing captured Ukrainian soldiers. For example, on March 13, Ukraine’s Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets reported that Russian forces killed five Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Kursk region.

According to the ombudsman, Russia primarily resorts to executing POWs to exert psychological and moral pressure on Ukrainian troops and society—“in this way, Russia presents itself as a brutal enemy to be feared.”

Furthermore, Lubinets said that Russia also uses such violence to pressure its own soldiers and civilians—"this is a form of societal dehumanization and the destruction of norms and rules."

“Thirdly, Russia is actively trying to avoid international condemnation by masking its crimes. That’s why it labels Ukrainians as terrorists and manipulates judgments and facts,” Lubinets added.