Shocking video evidence suggests Russian forces killed Ukrainian POWs in Avdiivka, families confirm identities of victims
On the evening of February 17, the Russians posted a video online revealing the bodies of soldiers. Some of their family members were able to identify them as Ukrainian soldiers who were not evacuated from their position on Zenit in Avdiivka.
The family members of the three defenders who remained at "Zenit" spoke to journalists from "Slidstva.Info."
Kateryna, the sister of Ivan Zhytnyk (known as Django), identified her brother's body by his clothing and the water bottle he was holding when the Russians brought out the defenders from the mine. Ivan had been speaking to his family through video chat when the invaders arrived at their makeshift hospital in the mine.
Investigators stated that the soldier had told his sister that their commanding officer had arranged for them to be captured as prisoners of war.
"Here is a quote from our material: "The brother said that the command agreed that the Russians would take them away because ours will no longer reach them," the journalists of slidstvo.info noted.
Journalists saw a video of the Russians, which shows the dead in the uniform of the Armed Forces, one of them with a bandaged head. This video was shot in the Zenit position. One of the killed has a tattoo in the shape of a cross on his arm.
Viktor Biliak, a member of the 110th Brigade, recognized this individual as Andrii Dubnytskyi (callsign Bayraktar), also soldier of the 110th Brigade. On February 14, he and the other injured soldiers stayed at the Zenit location.
"At 10:30 p.m. I found this video, and I recognized him by his tattoo. His co-worker confirmed to me that it was him. No one called me after that, nothing. Today, they asked for a DNA test of my daughter; if anything, I gave all the documents, data passports, military ID," the wife of "Bayraktar" Liudmyla said.
Together with Andrii Dubnytsky, there was Heorhiy Pavlov with the callsign "Panda" in the Russian video. His mother, Inna, recognized him. "Slidstvo.Info" journalists contacted the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade press service for a comment. The press service replied that they needed to check the information.
"I can neither confirm nor deny; we need a check, a verification. The staff list is information for official use, but I don't have access to this information. I saw this video, but if it were true, the Russians would already be hysterical about it that we left the wounded. They could be guys from another position, other places, another time," the press center replied.
Meanwhile, the DeepState project claims that the Russian occupiers shot all six captured Ukrainian soldiers at the "Museum" position (at "Zenit"). The fighters were recognized by their comrades from the video shared by the Russians. In the footage, shot-dead bodies are lying on the premises of Garage No. 1.
The Deep State channel aired a recap of the events leading up to the supposed execution of the fighters. It was reported that the enemy had breached through Tsarska Okhota and started to fortify themselves near "Zenit."
On February 13, the Ukrainian military started experiencing a shortage of ammunition and water supplies. The fighters were instructed to break through the battle in smaller groups. The retreat commenced on February 14.
The injured were assured they would be evacuated, with the scheduled arrival date being February 15.
"Probably, the boys were shot immediately on February 15. Before his death, one of the soldiers managed to write, "No bread, no [obscene lexis], and only half a bottle of water remained," analysts of the channel noted.
On February 16, propagandists showed footage of soldiers shot.
"A combination of errors, delays, and a lack of decisive action ultimately resulted in this tragedy. Once again, the enemy has shown their disregard for the laws of war," the project said.
It should be noted that on February 17, the commander of the operational and strategic group of troops "Tavria" Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, reported that during the withdrawal of Ukrainian units from Avdiivka, in the Donetsk region, some military personnel were captured by the Russians.
However, he did not specify whether they were wounded. According to him, Ukraine will appeal to international humanitarian organizations of other countries to ensure the humane treatment of the captured defenders by the Russian Federation.
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It should be noted that the DeepState Telegram channel published a video in which a group of soldiers is seen shooting two other soldiers who are coming out of the dugout, one of whom is holding his hands behind his head.
The Russian occupiers committed another war crime in the Avdiivka region near Stepove.
"The enemy entered the position of the 45th Separate Rifle Battalion. During the clearing, the Muscovites came across the dugout where our guys were sitting. They were forced to surrender due to the lack of ammunition. As soon as the second fighter came out, they just shot both of them," the report said.
The ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, has responded to the situation and plans to contact international organizations regarding this video. He also hopes that authorities will be able to identify the individuals responsible.
Also, on March 12 of this year, the Security Service of Ukraine finally identified and officially confirmed the identity of the defender of Ukraine's armed forces, whom the Russian invaders shot for saying "Glory to Ukraine."
