A video of Ukrainian POWs killed by men identified as Russians raises questions on accountability

ROME — Two videos, two different stories about Russia's war in Ukraine. In one of them, the prisoners appear to live. In the other, they die.

The Associated Press has obtained a video from a Ukrainian drone showing soldiers with Russian uniform markings killing Kyiv's forces who had surrendered to them. It also has discovered a second video, recorded by a Russian drone, of the same incident that sheds light on how Moscow is framing it.

These videos, analyzed together, tell a larger story at a crucial time in the 3-year-old war. Evidence of alleged atrocities is mounting. Chances for accountability are at risk. U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed for a peace deal and echoed narratives of Russian President Vladimir Putin — the very man who war crimes prosecutors want to see in court.

Here's what to know about the images and their implications:

What does the Ukrainian video show?

It was taken by Ukraine's 128th Mountain Brigade in what was left of the village of Piatykhatky in southern Ukraine on March 13, according to military officials with a European country that Ukrainian authorities shared the video with. The AP obtained the video from the officials on condition they not be identified because they were not authorized to release it.

The video shows the four Ukrainians who had surrendered, lying face-down on the ground. After they're searched, one Russian walks to the prisoners, raises his gun and starts firing. Another soldier shoots, too, then has to reload. A third Russian joins in, firing at least two shots at close range that take off the helmet — and the head — of one of the men. The soldier who reloaded then finishes off the four, methodically shooting each.

What does the Russian video show?

The video recorded by a Russian drone in Piatykhatky on the same day was found by AP on pro-Kremlin social media. It is set to eerie, ominous music and follows three Russian soldiers as they coax the surrendering Ukrainians out of the ruined house at gunpoint. But it cuts off with the Ukrainian soldiers lying on the ground — alive.

Intense fighting has devastated the area in the Zaporizhzhia region of southern Ukraine as both sides scramble to seize territory ahead of peace talks.

How have Ukrainian and Russian officials responded?

Ukraine's 128th Mountain Brigade said it could not comment because the deaths are being investigated as a suspected war crime. Ukraine's internal security agency confirmed it opened an investigation.

Russia's Ministry of Defense did not respond to requests for comment.

Asked about Russia's treatment of Ukrainian POWs, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia treats Ukrainian troops who surrender in accordance with international law and does not encourage the killing of POWs.

A Russian Foreign Ministry report in March claimed Ukrainian soldiers systematically kill Russian POWs. It offered no overall numbers.

What do outside experts say?

''Out of all the executions that we've seen since late 2023, it's one of the clearest cases,'' said Rollo Collins of the Center for Information Resilience, a London group that specializes in visual investigations and reviewed the Ukrainian video at AP's request. ''Our assessment is that this is not a typical combat killing. This is an illegal action.''

What's the view of prosecutors and UN officials?

Ukrainian prosecutors and United Nations officials say such extrajudicial killings of Ukrainian POWs — a crime under international law — have surged and are being encouraged by high-ranking Russian officials.

''We've documented a startling spike in the number of executions of captured Ukrainian service persons,'' said Danielle Bell, the head of the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. ''Calls on social media by public officials, amnesty laws, dehumanizing language within the context of impunity for these acts — it's contributing to an environment that allows such acts or these crimes to take place.''

At least 245 Ukrainian POWs have been killed by Russian forces since the war began, according to Ukrainian prosecutors.

''It's definitely part of the policy, which is fully supported by the top leaders of the Russian Federation,'' Yurii Bielousov, head of the war crimes department for Ukraine's prosecutor general, told AP. ''This isn't the action of specific commanders. It is supported on the top level.''

The U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine documented 91 extrajudicial killings of Ukrainian POWs since August 2024. In the same period, they found one case of Ukrainian soldiers killing a Russian POW.

Bielousov said all such allegations against Ukrainian troops are being investigated.

What about war crimes in general?

Ukraine has registered more than 157,000 incidents of potential war crimes since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has long held that accountability for war crimes should be part of any peace agreement.

Russia's Investigative Committee, the country's top investigation agency, said in December it had opened over 5,700 criminal cases into alleged Ukrainian crimes since the war began.

How will shifting US policy affect accountability?

The Trump administration has withdrawn support for a multinational effort to create a special tribunal to investigate Russian leaders for aggression in Ukraine and imposed sanctions on key staff of the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Putin.

Cuts to U.S. foreign aid have debilitated groups that collect evidence and work with Ukrainian authorities to build robust legal cases. Questions are also growing about whether amnesty for Russian officials might be part of a U.S.-brokered peace deal.

Stephen Rapp, a former U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, said the absence of U.S. support will diminish hopes of prosecutions.

Bielousov said Ukraine "is not ready to forgive everything which happened in our territory.''

___

Leicester reported from Paris and Dupuy reported from New York. Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Molly Quell in The Hague, Netherlands, and Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.