Russian Barbarism: Executing POWs

Since the start of the Russo-Ukraine War of 2014-15, news and social media have been filled an ample of amount of stories about Russian war crimes committed against the civilian population and soldiers. The destruction of MH-17 is perhaps the most blatant example of this.

The latest case pertains to documented evidence that Russian troops have been executing Ukrainian prisoners of war in clear violation of the Geneva Convention.

Article 13 of the convention regarding treatment of prisoners of war unmistakably declares:

“Prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated. Any unlawful act or omission by the Detaining Power causing death or seriously endangering the health of a prisoner of war in its custody is prohibited, and will be regarded as a serious breach of the present Convention. In particular, no prisoner of war may be subjected to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are not justified by the medical, dental or hospital treatment of the prisoner concerned and carried out in his interest.

“Likewise, prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity

“Measures of reprisal against prisoners of war are prohibited.”

News of this shocking evidence was brought to light last week by Amnesty International. The global human rights nongovernmental organization, which viewed a video account, described the incidents as “execution-style” killings by what it called pro-Russian armed groups in Donbas.

“The new evidence of these summary killings confirms what we have suspected for a long time. The question now is: what are the separatist leaders going to do about it?” Denis Krivosheev, Europe and Central Asia Deputy Director at Amnesty International, said in a statement.

“The torture, ill-treatment and killing of captured, surrendered or wounded soldiers are war crimes. These claims must be promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigated, and the perpetrators prosecuted in fair trials by recognized authorities.”

Amnesty International favors use of “pro-Russian” but the murderers could just as easily have been Russian regular army commanders.

Footage reviewed by Amnesty International shows Ukrainian soldier Ihor Branovytsky, one of the defenders of Donetsk airport, taken captive and interrogated. The video, posted on YouTube, shows signs that he was hit in the face. He remained in captivity until he was killed. For their dedication to defending the airport, Ukrainian soldiers were nicknamed “cyborgs” – which has evolved into a modern-day badge of honor in Ukraine.

According to Amnesty International, several individuals claim to have seen Branovytsky being shot and killed point-blank by a separatist commander. His body was returned to his family earlier this month and he was buried in Kyiv on April 3. Ukrainian security services have opened an investigation into his killing.

Amnesty International has also confirmed seeing other videos documenting the captivity, and pictures of the dead bodies, of at least three other members of the Ukrainian armed forces, reportedly being held in a morgue in Donetsk. There are signs of bullet wounds to their heads and upper parts of their bodies, apparently the result of execution-style killings. The soldiers were captured by Russian forces in Debaltseve during February 12-18, when the defending Ukrainian forces were encircled there.

Amnesty International cited a report in the Ukrainian newspaper Kyiv Post on April 6, which published a phone interview, reportedly made with Arseniy Pavlov, better known by his nom-de-guerre “Motorola.” Pavlov, who claims to be a Russian national and the leader of the pro-Russian armed group known as “Sparta Battalion” operating in eastern Ukraine, claimed he had “shot dead” 15 soldiers captured from the Ukrainian armed forces. He is believed to have killed Ihor Branovytsky.

“This chilling ‘confession’ from a separatist fighter, alongside video evidence and testimony from witnesses, and the mounting evidence of abuses of captives by both sides, highlights the urgent need for an independent investigation into this and all other allegations of abuses in this conflict which began a year ago,” said Krivosheev.

Amnesty International said this type of behavior is tantamount to a war crime.

“Summary killings are a war crime, plain and simple. The leaders of the self-styled ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ in eastern Ukraine must send their members a clear message: those who fight with them or on their behalf must respect the laws of war. They must urgently remove from their ranks anyone suspected of responsibility for ordering or committing serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses, and fully cooperate with any independent investigation,” said Krivosheev.

Russian terrorists in Ukraine are holding at least 300 Ukrainian POWs, according to Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Yuri Tandyt and it’s believed that some of them have been transported across the border to an uncertain fate into Russia.

Under the Minsk ceasefire accords, POWs and other detainees were to be returned to their national representatives.

The Associated Press, in fulfilling its journalistic obligation of presenting both sides of the issue, reported that Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for Russian mercenary terrorists, denied the claims, saying that footage of soldiers being taken prisoner could not serve as evidence. “Accusations without facts are nothing. Nobody has shot anybody," Basurin was quoted as saying.

Can you imagine a correspondent or news service during World War II, such as Edward R. Murrow, quoting a spokesman for the Nazis, the Gestapo or SS who denied Nazi war crimes and killing Jews en masse?

After World War II, Nazis were brought to trial in Nuremberg for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Ukraine and the free world must immediately begin preparations to bring Russians who committed war crimes in Ukraine – those who actually shot the POWs and those who gave the orders – to trial in The Hague. This issue cannot be swept under the diplomatic rug and the execution of Ukrainian POWs as well as the Holodomor should not be granted statutes of limitation for the sake of improving relations with Moscow. 

Putin Shamelessly Denies Russian Troops in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his four-hour encounter on April 16 with journalists – if you can call Russians who write about current events journalists – continued to demonstrate without batting an eye or missing a beat his uncanny showmanship and skill of lying, fabricating, manipulating and twisting an event into something it never resembled.

While the 240-minute transcript offers a great deal of fodder for examination, analysis and reconstruction, I’d like to address one particular one, which deals with the pressing question of whether or not Russian soldiers have invaded Ukraine.

During this annual charade, Irina Khakamada, a Russian politician who ran in the Russian presidential election of 2004 and is a member of The Other Russia coalition, directly asked Putin about the presence of Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

Khakamada constructed her query in two parts with the first one dealing with the murder of Boris Nemtsov. Her interest in these two issues could lead some unfamiliar readers to presume that she is an opposition figure but in reality she’s probably in Putin’s camp with a license to pose visibly tough questions and even criticize the President of Russia.

The Ukrainian newspaper Day on May 13, 2014, pointed out that Khakamada irritated Ukrainians by calling Putin a winner “who carried out a special operation without a single fired shot, and said that Crimea has always needed Russian identification.”

Moderator Yekaterina Mironova called on Khakamada, noting that she is well known and she has a question about Ukraine.

She asked: “At Boris’ funeral, Western journalists approached me and said – this information is also available on the internet – that Boris Nemtsov had received certain information about the presence of Russian troops during the events in southeastern Ukraine. At the funeral, the Western journalists kept asking me the same question. Can you finally say, can you say it in so many words whether or not our troops have been there?”

Two curious points emerged in her questions. The first pertains to her use of the word “events” in southeastern Ukraine. This resembles some free world leaders’ timid refusal to call that event in Ukraine a war that was launched by Russia against Ukraine. The second point is her request to finally say “in so many words,” which means Putin can keep his reply brief.

And Putin obliged Khakamada, saying: “Finally, the question of whether Russian troops are present in Ukraine… I can tell you outright and unequivocally that there are no Russian troops in Ukraine.”

In 26 words he set the record straight and corrected numerous legitimate sources, including NATO and eye witnesses, who have testified that Russian soldiers are fighting side-by-side with Russian mercenaries from Russia, Chechnya, Asia and southeastern Ukraine in an undeclared war against Ukraine.

There were other questions about Ukraine in the meeting but no one dared to return to the question of Russian troops in Ukraine.

Khakamada’s first question about the murder of Nemtsov also elicited a cynical reply from Putin. She asked “what do you think about the way the investigation is moving along and is there a chance that we will learn who ordered this heinous murder, which is more reminiscent of a terrorist act?”

Putin’s reply was far longer than his remarks about Russia’s war with Ukraine but the point that related to her question asserted:

“I believe a killing of this kind is a shame and a tragedy.”

“The question of whether those behind the murder will be found remains open. Of course, we will find out in the course of the work that is currently being done.”

As for Putin’s denial about Russian troops in Ukraine, for the past 14 months news media have been filled with an abundance of documented reports of their incontrovertible presence in Ukraine. An interesting article filled with supporting photographs appeared on April 3 in Vice News (www.news.vice.com) with the headline “Russian Soldiers Have Given up Pretending They are Not Fighting in Ukraine.”

“For the past year, the Kremlin has strenuously denied that its troops are supporting pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine — but fighters on the ground are apparently no longer bothering to keep up the farce,” wrote Alex Luhn. “St. Petersburg native Dmitry Sapozhnikov, who went to Ukraine in October to fight alongside the rebels, told the BBC Russian service in a candid interview from Donetsk that Russian military units have played a decisive role in rebel advances, including the operations in February that led to the capture of the transport hub of Debaltseve. Russian officers directly command large military operations in eastern Ukraine, he noted.”

Luhn also wrote: “Throughout the conflict, which the United Nations says has killed more than 6,000 people, evidence of Russian military support for the rebels has mounted.

“Ten Russian paratroopers were captured in Ukraine last August, and NATO published satellite photographs showing what it described as Russian tanks crossing the border that summer. Rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko even admitted around the same time that active-duty Russian troops were fighting with his men, though he claimed that they had chosen to fight while on vacation.”

He also said: “Russian officials including President Vladimir Putin have repeatedly denied that their soldiers are in Ukraine, arguing that the Russians who are fighting there are all volunteers.

“Sapozhnikov himself is one such volunteer, a leader of a fringe monarchist party in St. Petersburg who said he left his business renovating homes to help defend Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine and oppose Kyiv’s shift toward the West. As the leader of a special forces unit of the Donetsk People’s Republic, he also took part in the bloody battle for the Donetsk airport, which the rebels captured in January after months of fighting.

“He admitted the Russian military has been instrumental to their success.”

The free world cannot overlook Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the involvement of its regular armed forces, tanks, aircraft and other military equipment in a war that is not about annexing southeastern Ukraine but re-subjugating all of Ukraine into Russia’s prison of nations.