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Tracking the Faceless Killers who Mutilated and Executed a Ukrainian POW

August 5th 2022

On July 28, a series of horrifying videos circulated on pro-Russian social media which depicted an act of sexual violence and execution of what appeared to be a Ukrainian prisoner of war. Bellingcat has not linked to these videos due to their extremely graphic nature. The three videos (hereafter ‘the violent videos’) were initially posted on a Russian telegram channel whose name translates as ‘Cargo 200, death to Ukrainians’, which extolls casualties among Ukrainian armed forces. The videos were subsequently reposted on the popular Rosich Telegram channel run by a nationalist Russian mercenary group. The videos were initially celebrated by the channel administrators and most of the commenting users, until several hours later they were suddenly disowned by the same as “likely forgeries”, allegedly planted in the pro-Russian channels by agents of Ukraine aiming to discredit the Russian army. A description of the act in the videos, which each show a part of the same sequence of events, follows in the closed drop-down box below.

In recent days, journalists and open source researchers have sought to identify the culprits of this apparent war crime, with mixed success. Several incorrect identifications of the man who committed the act – a soldier wearing a cowboy-style hat – were made by various media outlets and individuals online. Bellingcat researchers have reviewed the footage, which does not contain visible signs of editing or tampering. However, the authenticity of the videos cannot be validated with purely technical means due to the low resolution of the video and the absence of metadata. Bellingcat’s investigation into visual clues in the videos using the available open source evidence corroborates the authenticity of the three violent videos and indicates that fighters from ‘Akhmat’, a Chechen paramilitary formation serving with the Russian armed forces in Ukraine, were present at the scene of the murder. The link to ‘Akhmat’ was uncovered while investigating a man who appeared in multiple news broadcasts about the group who wore the same distinctive hat, bracelet and military fatigues as seen worn by one individual in the mutilation video.

Several visual clues in these news broadcasts also suggested that they could have been filmed near, and in the same time frame, as the murder videos, including one filmed at the same location in July of this year. The identity of the individual who wears the cowboy hat in the videos of the ‘Akhmat’ fighters is known to Bellingcat. However, Bellingcat has obscured his image and name as while there are numerous commonalities, the face of the alleged perpetrator cannot be clearly seen in the videos of the act itself. Bellingcat contacted this individual to offer him a right of reply. In a conversation with reporters, he acknowledged that he had been deployed to Ukraine as a member of the ‘Akhmat’ group, and that he was “the man in the cowboy hat” seen in the news broadcasts. While he denied that he appeared in the mutilation and execution videos, he did confirm that he had been detained and questioned by the Russian security services over the footage, who had told him that it actually depicted Ukrainian soldiers mutilating one of their own comrades.

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SOURCE = BellingCat

SOURCE = Poland Daily 34

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Dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war killed in Russian captivity

July 29th 2022

Dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war have reportedly been killed in what is believed to be a Russian attack on a prisoner camp in Russian-occupied Donbas, and possibly the worst crime against captive combatants since Russia’s war began. Ukrainian intelligence said that a “powerful explosion” occurred on July 28 in a former jail that had been serving as a prisoner camp for Ukrainian soldiers. The prisoner camp was near the town of Olenivka, some 20 kilometers south of Donetsk, the main stronghold of Russian proxies since 2014. Russian media published a video supposedly showing a heavily ruined and burnt prison barrack, with scores of charred bodies in and around it. Russia claims the incident took the lives of 53 Ukrainian prisoners and injured 75. Ukrainian intelligence says that “around 40” Ukrainians were killed and didn’t have the number of the injured.Russian-sponsored militants in control of the area immediately accused Ukraine of an attack against its own combatants in captivity, saying the barrack had been destroyed by an American-provided high-precision HIMARS rocket systems.

The Ukrainian military denied any role in the incident, saying Russia killed the Ukrainian prisoners in an “intentional artillery strike.” “Russian occupants were pursuing criminal ends: to accuse Ukraine of committing war crimes. And also to conceal torture of detainees and executions carried out by occupational authorities and under Russian military command,” Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said on July 29. The Olenivska prison, as it is known in eastern Ukraine, is located some three kilometers east of the Olenivka town, in an isolated area. It had been used for decades as a correctional facility. When the region fell under Russian occupation in 2014, it had also been used as an internment camp, where captive Ukrainian combatants were held as prisoners.  In particular, some of the nearly 2,000 Ukrainian combatants who surrendered under order at the Azovstal plant following a months-long battle were also held at the Olenivka prison. Intense fighting at Azovstal, a large metal plant and the last Ukrainian-held area in Mariupol, ended in May with Ukraine’s command ordering the garrison to surrender in order to save their lives. Ukraine repeatedly stated that it intended to get all the captured Azovstal defenders back home via prisoner swaps with Russia.

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SOURCE = Kyiv Independent

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Russian Military Spotted Retreating From Ukraine Counter-Offensive — Video

July 27th 2022

A video on social media appears to show a convoy of Russian military vehicles retreating from a Russian-held Kherson town south to the Crimean Peninsula, amid reports of a Ukraine counter-offensive on the strategic southern region. The video was posted on Telegram by Strana, a Russian-language news outlet in Ukraine. The footage is sped up to show how many Russian artillery vehicles are purportedly leaving the town. In 10 seconds, nine vehicles appear to drive by. A caption next to the video said: “In the captured Genichesk, columns of Russian equipment have been fixed since the morning. Local telegram channels report a convoy of 25 cars, which has not been observed before. It is also reported that since yesterday evening the columns have been moving in the direction of the Arabat Spit, that is, to the south, in the direction of Crimea.”

Russian forces have had to regroup in the eastern region of Donbas, where most of the fighting is taking place, but Ukraine’s army has come back to Kherson with a counterattack. Ukraine’s use of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) is reportedly playing a crucial role in the battle to retake Kherson. Ukraine’s military has bombed three key bridges in the Kherson region. The Guardian reported Wednesday that video and witness accounts show up to 18 strikes on the Antonivskiy Bridge that crosses the Dnieper River, a key artery to the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula for ammunition and supplies. The Ukrainian bridge detonations appear to be an attempt to isolate the city before taking it back from the Russians, who took it in early March, only days into the war.

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SOURCE = Newsweek

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U.S. to react to any annexation attempts by Russia – statement at UN

July 29th 2022

The United States, along with its allies and partners in the United Nations, will react to any attempts on the part of Russia to annex new territories in Ukraine. This will be done to protect the world order and the UN charter. That’s according to Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, who addressed the UN Security Council on Friday, July 29, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Recalling that Russia is now reviewing its plans for the annexation attempts in Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, as well as the entire territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Thomas-Greenfield said: “This is galling. The acquisition of territory by force is about as clear a violation of the UN Charter as you can get.”

We cannot, we will not stand by and let it happen,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “Russia has effectively set the UN Charter on fire,” the U.S. ambassador emphasized. She has also addressed the representatives of countries calling for “all parties” to stick t diplomacy, without calling Russia out. It is precisely Russia’s actions that remain the only obstacle to resolving the ongoing crisis. As reported earlier, the UN Security Council was convened on Friday to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine. 

SOURCE = UkrinForm

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UK says Russia’s Wagner allocated responsibility for specific sectors of front line in Ukraine

July 29th 2022

July 29 (Reuters) – Russian private military firm Wagner has likely been allocated responsibility for specific sectors of the front line in eastern Ukraine, possibly as Russia is facing a major shortage of combat infantry, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update on Friday. “This is a significant change from the previous employment of the group since 2015, when it typically undertook missions distinct from overt, large-scale regular Russian military activity,” Britain said in a regular intelligence bulletin on Twitter.

SOURCE = Reuters

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It’s Time to Designate Wagner Group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization

July 29th 2022

International sanctions to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine have overlooked a key component in the Kremlin’s toolbox for international terror and coercion: the private military company (PMC) Wagner Group, which is owned by Vladimir Putin confidant Yevgeny Prigozhin. In the months since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the international community has responded with a wide range of international sanctions intended to isolate Russia’s economy from the industrial world and punish individuals and institutions for their complicity in the war. Yet so far, the United States has missed an opportunity to designate Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA).  Wagner Group and its military leader, Dmitry Utkin, have been subject to Treasury Department sanctions under the authorities of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) since June 2017.

The specific designation of Wagner as an FTO under the AEDPA would be an appropriate response not only for war crimes that Wagner Group has committed in occupied Ukraine from 2014 until today but also for the documented crimes that it has committed throughout the Middle East and Africa. These crimes have occured as Wagner has enriched the Kremlin and served as a covert instrument of Russian foreign policy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.  In addition to acting as an overt condemnation of the unlawful acts Wagner Group has already committed, the FTO designation would make it a crime under the U.S. material support to terrorism statutes to provide any form of material support to Wagner Group going forward. This would increase the risk of potential violation of U.S. law to the myriad financial institutions and logistics companies whose support is critical to Wagner Group activities throughout the Middle East and Africa. Treasury Department sanctions that list Wagner Group, Prigozhin, and Utkin as specially designated nationals under the IEEPA do carry a significant bite by freezing and blocking assets in the U.S., but designation as an FTO would bring a critical component of U.S. criminal law into play.

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SOURCE = LAWFARE

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Exclusive: Ukrainian commander apologizes to dead Canadian’s mom for not being able to ‘save her son’

A Russian tank killed a Canadian fighter who was trying to carry a fallen comrade to safety in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, grieving members of his battalion say. Emile-Antoine Roy-Sirois, 31, from Montreal, died alongside three other foreign fighters on July 18, after his company was ambushed by a Russian tank near the front line in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. It is believed to be the first Canadian death in active combat during the 2022 Russian invasion. “Emile brought humanity to the team,” says one of his comrades, who is known as “Fin.” “He was very kind. The group just won’t be the same without him.”

Sirois’ body now lies in a morgue in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, awaiting instructions from the Canadian Embassy on how it should be repatriated. The Ukrainian Armed Forces, which Sirois was serving, has offered to pay for the cost of the repatriation. Sirois, a paramedic with experience in the French Foreign Legion, was killed alongside Luke “Skywalker” Lucyszyn and Bryan Young, both Americans, and Edvard Selander Patrignani of Sweden. The men were part of an international battalion within the Territorial Defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

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SOURCE = Global News

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Ukraine war: UN and Red Cross should investigate prison deaths, says Ukraine

July 29th 2022

Ukraine has called for the United Nations and the Red Cross to be allowed to investigate the deaths of more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in an attack in occupied territory. The Red Cross said it is seeking access to the prison in order to help with evacuating and treating the wounded. Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of attacking the camp. Unverified Russian video footage of the aftermath shows a tangle of wrecked bunk beds and badly charred bodies. Exactly what happened at the prison camp in Olenivka, which is controlled by the Russian-backed separatist Donetsk People’s Republic, remains unclear. Ukraine says the site was targeted by Russia in an effort to destroy evidence of torture and killing. President Volodymyr Zelensky described the incident as a “deliberate Russian war crime.” For its part, Russia said the camp was hit by Ukrainian precision rockets. Those detained at the prison are said to have included members of the Azov battalion, who were captured defending the southern city of Mariupol in May and whom Russia has sought to depict as neo-Nazis and war criminals. Daniil Bezsonov, a spokesman for the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, said the strike had been a “direct hit on a barracks holding prisoners”. Russia’s defence ministry said the strike had been carried out with US-made Himars artillery and it accused Ukraine of a “deliberately perpetrated” provocation.

The ministry produced fragments of what it said were rockets fired by the Himars system. But Ukraine denied that any rocket or artillery strikes had been made. An adviser to President Zelensky said the scene looked like arson, and that a missile strike would have scattered the bodies. Ukraine’s general staff of the armed forces called on the UN and the Red Cross to investigate the deaths, claiming that Russia had targeted the camp in order to cover up its treatment of POWs. Writing on social media, it said the they should immediately respond as the two organisations had given guarantees that the prisoners of war would be kept safe there. The Red Cross said it was seeking access to the site and had offered to help evacuate the wounded. “Our priority right now is making sure that the wounded receive life-saving treatment and that the bodies of those who lost their lives are dealt with in a dignified manner,” it said in a statement. Ukraine’s new Prosecutor-General Andriy Kostin earlier said he had opened a war crimes investigation into the blast.

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SOURCE = BBC News

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Dozens dead in Ukraine prison blast as both sides trade blame

July 29th 2022

Dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war have been killed in an attack on a prison building in Russian-occupied Donetsk that both sides in the war have blamed on each other. Russia’s defence ministry said 40 prisoners were killed and 75 wounded in the attack on the prison in the frontline town of Olenivka. A spokesman for local, Russian-backed self-styled separatist forces put the death toll at 53. Both accused Ukrainian forces of striking the prison with US-made Himars rockets. Ukraine said it believed about 40 people were killed and 130 were injured. Its defence forces denied responsibility and said Russian artillery had targeted the prison to hide the fact that the men held there had been “tortured and murdered”. The country’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said Russia had committed a “barbaric war crime”. Ukraine accused of Russia of attacking the prison as part of an “information war to accuse the Ukrainian armed forces of shelling civilian infrastructure and the population to cover up their own treacherous action”.

The county’s military intelligence said the strike was a “deliberate act of terrorism” and the domestic security agency the SBU said it had intercepted phone calls which point to Russia being responsible. Ukraine’s prosecutor-general, Andriy Kostin, said he had opened a war crimes investigation into the blast. There was no way to immediately verify either of the two versions of events. Footage broadcast on Russian television said to be from the scene at the prison showed military personnel examining a building with a hole in the roof, tangled metal from bunk beds and blood trails among personal effects. Other images showed charred bodies and dismembered limbs. Russian media later published pictures of what it said were fragments from a US Himars rocket, gathered together and placed on what appeared to be a bench rather located in situ.

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SOURCE = The Guardian

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How US-made mobile-rocket artillery could change the battlefield in Ukraine

July 29th 2022

Artillery has quickly become the most important weapon in Ukraine’s war with Russia. Ukrainian forces have begun to use newer Western artillery, like the M777 Howitzer, in the battlefield. But a different kind of weapon has had a bigger impact. The American-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, aka HIMARS, has been a major high-tech upgrade for Ukraine’s military. “The introduction of the HIMARS rocket artillery to Ukraine has been significant,” said George Barros, a geospatial analyst at the Institute for the Study of War. “That has changed the battlefield quite a lot. And it really goes to show that Western aid to Ukraine is not just paper pushing or symbolic.”

Ukrainian forces claimed to have already used the HIMARS to take out ammunition dumps, command posts and other high-value targets. Providing this high-tech system could help Ukraine blunt Russian advances and change the direction of the conflict. “What the United States needs to do is to have a strategy to bring this war to an early end,” said George Beebe, director of grand strategy at the Quincy Institute. “That means not only convincing the Russians that they can’t win on the battlefield but also showing them that should they make concessions at the negotiating table.”

SOURCE = CNBC

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