Horrifying moment ‘Russian soldiers execute surrendering Ukrainian soldiers at close range as they emerge from trench’ – as Kyiv investigates ‘war crimes’

This is the horrific moment Vladimir Putin's ruthless Russian forces allegedly fired bullets at point-blank range at surrendered Ukrainian soldiers.

Grainy footage posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, claims to show a group of Russian soldiers surrounding a trench near the village of Stepove, close to Avdiivka, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

A soldier in Ukrainian gear emerges with his hands on his head and then lies face down on the ground.

Shortly afterwards, aerial footage shows another Ukrainian soldier staggering out of the trench.

But within seconds, the Russian soldiers appear to open fire on the second Ukrainian soldier. After hearing the gunfire, the first soldier scrambles to his feet, but quickly falls back to the ground as he is shot with a barrage of bullets, creating large clouds.

The harrowing one-minute clip is being investigated by Ukrainian officials and, if confirmed, would amount to war crimes. The Kremlin has denied the allegations.

A surrendering soldier in a Ukrainian uniform puts his hands on his head and lies down on the ground after being surrounded by a group wearing Russian equipment

A second soldier staggered out of the hole, but the group then appears to open fire on him as clouds of smoke billow into the air.

It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the video or the circumstances in which it was filmed, and it was unclear when the incident occurred.

The Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office launched a criminal investigation today, hours after the Ukrainian army's press service said in an online statement that the images are real.

“The video shows a group in Russian uniforms shooting at close range two unarmed soldiers in the uniform of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who surrendered,” the prosecutor's office said in a Telegram update today.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

As of tonight, no public statements from the Russian government or military were seen on the video.

Kiev, its Western allies and international human rights groups have repeatedly accused Moscow of violating international humanitarian law since the country launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The video first appeared yesterday on DeepState, a popular Ukrainian Telegram channel that covers the war.

The post claimed the images came from the front lines at Avdiivka, a Ukrainian hideout in the country's partly occupied east, which has seen heavy fighting in recent weeks.

The Prosecutor's Office said today that the alleged murder took place in the Pokrovsk district, which includes Avdiivka and surrounding areas.

After hearing the gunfire, the first soldier scrambles to his feet, but quickly falls back to the ground as he is sprayed with a barrage of bullets, creating large clouds.

The harrowing images are believed to have been taken near the village of Stepove, near Avdiivka, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's human rights chief, called the incident “yet another dire example of Russian violations of international humanitarian law.”

Vladimir Putin has been repeatedly accused of committing war crimes since the conflict began last February

“It is clear from the video that the Ukrainian military is taking the necessary steps that show they are surrendering,” Ukraine's human rights chief Dmytro Lubinets said hours after the footage emerged yesterday.

In a statement on Telegram, Lubinets described the incident as “yet another stark example of Russia's violations of international humanitarian law.”

Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesman for the Ukrainian military group fighting near Avdiivka, was quoted by Ukrainian media as saying the video was a “flanking confirmation” of Moscow's disrespect for the laws of war.

In March, images of a man shouting “Glory to Ukraine” before being shot in a wooded area sparked national outrage in Ukraine as senior officials claimed he was an unarmed prisoner of war killed by Russian soldiers.

Last summer, Kiev and Moscow also traded blame for a shooting on a prison in occupied eastern Ukraine that killed dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war. Both sides claimed the attack on the Olenivka facility was intended to cover up atrocities, with Ukrainian officials charging that captured soldiers had been tortured and executed there.

The U.N. human rights chief in July rejected Moscow's claim that a rocket attack caused the blast.

Also on Sunday, Ukraine's Energy Ministry said nearly 1,000 cities and towns suffered power outages that day, with hundreds of settlements in the west hit by winter weather and others affected by ongoing fighting.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, assessed late Saturday that military operations along the entire frontline in Ukraine have been delayed due to bad weather, with mud bogging down tracked vehicles and making it difficult for lighter equipment and infantry to move on to jerk.

Still, Shtupun, from the Ukrainian military command Tavria which oversees the front line at Avdiivka, said in a separate statement on Sunday that Russian infantry attacks in the area had intensified in the past day. In a Telegram post, he emphasized that Ukrainian forces were “standing firm” in Avdiivka and another nearby town.

At least two people were killed and seven others were injured in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson after Russian forces shelled an apartment building and other civilian buildings on Sunday, the head of the city's military administration said in a series of Telegram posts.

One of Roman Mrochko's updates included a blurry photo of what he said was the body of a deceased citizen, apparently lying on a dirt road or in a yard outside the high-rise. The authenticity of the photo could not be independently verified.

Regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported separately on Sunday that Russian shelling had damaged two hospitals in Kherson that day. He did not immediately report any casualties.

Earlier in the day, a 78-year-old civilian died in a village northeast of Kherson after Russian shells struck his garage, according to a Telegram update from the regional Ukrainian military government.

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