Russian forces execute unarmed Ukrainian war prisoner
On March 6, a video surfaced on social media showing the execution of an unarmed Ukrainian war prisoner by Russian troops after saying: “Slava Ukraini!” (Glory to Ukraine!). The video sparked strong reactions from Ukrainians. Russia will be held accountable for this war crime and every other war crime it has committed, the Office of the President of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights said.
President Zelenskyi reacted to the video of an unarmed Ukrainian soldier executed by Russian forces for saying “Glory to Ukraine”.
“Today, a video has been released showing how the occupiers brutally killed a warrior who bravely said to their faces: ‘Glory to Ukraine!’. I want us all to respond to his words in unity: ‘Glory to the hero! Glory to heroes! Glory to Ukraine!’ We will find the murderers,” Zelenskyi said in his nightly address on Monday.
Russia kills for the very fact that they are Ukrainians, for just one word about Ukraine, the President added.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on the International Criminal Court to launch an investigation into “this heinous war crime.”
The Ukrainian Army’s 30th Kostyantyn Ostrozkyi separate mechanized brigade named the soldier as Tymofiy Mykolayovych Shadura. He had been missing since February 3, 2023 after fighting near Bakhmut.
Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov put forward a different version, alleging that the Ukrainian soldier on the video could be Oleksandr Matsiyevskyi, a soldier with the fire support company of the 163rd territorial defense battalion (formed in the city of Nizhyn) of the 119th brigade of the territorial defense force. He went missing after fighting near Bakhmut on December 30, 2022, and was possibly taken prisoner. In February, when the bodies of Oleksandr Matsiyevskyi and two other soldiers were returned to Ukraine, there was no clarity on the circumstances of his death.
The final confirmation of his identity will be established after the relevant examinations are conducted.
Ukrainian troops hit Russian Buk air defense system, repel attacks on Bakhmut, General Staff says
In the past day, the Ukrainian Armed Forces struck a Russian Buk-M1-2 air defense missile system and repelled Russian attacks on Bakhmut, the General Staff said in an evening update on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian Air Force launched six air strikes on concentrations of Russian troops and military equipment. Ukraine’s missile units and artillery hit a Russian Buk-M1-2 air defense missile system and three areas of concentration of Russia’s manpower, the report reads.
The Russian forces carried out 19 air strikes and a missile strike. They also launched five attacks from multiple launch rocket systems, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said.
Russia takes up to 30,000 casualties in trying to take Bakhmut, western officials say
Russia has sustained “20,000 to 30,000 casualties” – killed and wounded – in trying to capture Bakhmut, western officials estimated at a briefing on Tuesday, an article by the Guardian’s Dan Sabbagh said.
The official speculated that a high proportion of those casualties, many of which will be prisoners recruited by Wagner, could have been killed. “The death rates of Wagner has been significantly higher than the Russian armed forces,” they said, which have been estimated at three wounded to one killed.
The officials said they believed that Ukraine is still able to hold and resupply its military in Bakhmut, although the city is surrounded from three sides and said the defenders could “last for another month” – or chose to make a tactical withdrawal “within a week”.
NATO intelligence estimates that for every Ukrainian soldier killed defending Bakhmut, Russian forces have lost at least five, a military official with the North Atlantic alliance told CNN on Monday.
How Kremlin uses sports as a part of war propaganda. Ukraine in Flames #362
Participation of russian and belarusian athletes in 2024 Olympic Games is the rehabilitation of the aggressor. As long as this war continues, it should be impossible for them to parade as if nothing has happened and arrive in Paris, while bombs are falling on Ukraine. Watch Ukraine in flames #362 to find out about the hypocrisy of international Olympic structures and how the Kremlin uses sports and athletes as a part of war propaganda.
Guests:
- Illia Shevliak, President of the Sports Committee of Ukraine
- Olha Saladukha, People’s Deputy of Ukraine, Olympic Bronze Medalist, Athletics World Champion
