Drone footage shows Russian troops using Ukrainian POWs as HUMAN SHIELDS during gun battle – with one prisoner shot dead
Russian soldiers are using Ukrainian prisoners of war as human shields, according to footage obtained by journalists, which shows one prisoner being shot dead in a gun battle.
The video of fighting in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Oblast, filmed from above by a drone, appears to show several of Vladimir Putin’s combatants firing from behind captive Ukrainian soldiers.
Reporters working for Radio Free Europe (RFE) say they have been able to identify the location of the battle, but have not disclosed this information at the request of the Ukrainian military.
However, RFE was able to identify Russian soldiers from the 234th Air Assault Regiment (part of the 76th Air Assault Division) in the footage, confirming their presence in what is said to be a front-line sector.
Kyiv’s forces are currently battling Moscow’s armies along the several-hundred-mile long front line in the east and south of Ukraine, where the fighting has slowed a stalemate in recent months.
Russian soldiers are using Ukrainian prisoners of war as human shields, according to aerial footage (pictured) obtained by journalists, which shows one prisoner being shot dead in a gun battle
The conflict has descended into a gruelling war involving trenches, artillery, tanks and minefields – akin to those seen in the Second World War – combined with the use of modern technology such as drones.
While neither side has made significant territorial advances, intense battles are still being fought daily.
The newly released footage shows Russian troops advancing into a copse of dead, leafless trees, presumably with the aim of clearing out a position taken up by Ukrainian forces.
One of the Russian soldiers is shown walking down a dirt path that runs along-side the copse while using an unarmed captive member of the Ukrainian military as cover.
He is seen guiding his captive by the shoulder with one hand, while firing his rifle with the other.
Other captured Ukrainian troops are also seen in the footage, walking with the Russian soldiers, who fire into the trees and throw explosives.
The aerial clip ends with one of the Ukrainian men falling to the ground. He is presumed to have been shot.
Both Ukrainian fighters and journalists said the Russians were using the human shields to deter the Ukrainian soldiers they were fighting from firing at them as they advanced.
The RFE reporters also said they did not know the fate of the prisoners of war.
Ukraine’s Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said that if what the video shows is indeed true, then Russia has violated the Geneva Conventions which states that the use of human shields if forbidden.
It also outlines how countries must treats combatants who have been captured. The video also suggests that the Russian soldiers violated the conventions with regard to this as well.
‘If this is the case, it will officially establish another violation of the Geneva Conventions by the Russian Federation,’ said Lubinets. ‘This is the first video of its kind that I’ve seen. I had no such data before.’
The newly released drone footage (pictured) shows Russian troops advancing into a copse of dead, leafless trees, presumably with the aim of clearing out a position taken up by Ukrainian forces. One Russian soldier is seen walking behind a Ukrainian soldier, firing shots off at what are believed to be Ukrainian positions amongst the trees
The Ukrainian POW (right) is seen unarmed, while the armed Russian soldier advances up the road closely behind him
Towards the end of the footage, one of the Ukrainian soldiers falls to the ground having presumably been shot
Speaking on Thursday, Putin said that Russian had deployed more than 600,000 military personnel in Ukraine, nearly two years after he ordered his troops to capture the capital Kyiv.
Kyiv and Moscow are believed to have suffered massive casualties after months of large-scale hostilities and the United States believes some 315,000 Russian soldiers have either been killed or wounded.
‘The front line is over 2,000 kilometres (1,242 miles) long. There are 617,000 people in the conflict zone,’ Putin said during his first end-of-year press conference since sending his army into Ukraine in February 2022.
He added that some 244,000 mobilised troops were currently stationed in territories in Ukraine that are controlled by Russian forces.
Putin made the comments during his end-of-year press conference, where he said that there were no immediate plans to introduce a fresh round of mobilisation of Russian men for the conflict.
The echoes of Russia’s military operation reverberated in the grand hall in central Moscow where hundreds of journalists passed four police checkpoints to hear Putin speak.
Russia said it had downed nine Ukrainian drones heading for Moscow just hours before Putin’s event was set to kick off, while Ukraine said it had shot down 41 of the 42 Iranian-designed drones launched by Russian forces at the southern city of Odesa, in a barrage that wounded 11 people.
Putin’s choreographed call-in show was cancelled last year as Moscow reeled from the shock of early failures of its military operation, where Ukraine managed to repel the Kremlin’s assault on Kyiv and then regain territory in the east and south.
A Ukrainian soldier looks out from a tank near to the town of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, on December 13
Ukraine’s strong resistance and support from its allies had surprised observers around the world and in Moscow, where many had expected to conquer Kyiv in a few days.
But almost two years into his offensive, Putin appears to be sensing the tide turning in his favour.
Putin’s call-in show coincided with a crucial summit in Brussels during which Ukraine had hoped to secure a clear path to membership of the European Union.
But that drive has been hampered by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a Putin ally who has caused anguish in both Kyiv and Brussels but standing firmly against Ukraine’s membership.
Orban reaffirmed that position before the start of official talks in Brussels on Thursday, telling reporters that Ukraine had not yet met the ‘merit-based’ criteria to join the 27-nation bloc.
‘There is no reason to discuss anything because preconditions were not met,’ Orban said.
Russia’s military resurgence prompted NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg to warn Thursday that Putin could attack other countries if Western military support for Kyiv fades.
‘If Putin wins in Ukraine, there is real risk that his aggression will not end there,’ Stoltenberg said in Brussels.
‘Our support is not charity – it is an investment in our security,’ he said.
Putin was bolstered also by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit this week to Washington, where he failed to overcome Republican opposition in Congress to approving a new $60-billion aid package.
Ukrainian servicemen drive BTR-4 armoured personnel carriers along a road in the town of Orikhiv, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia region, December 13
Moscow, meanwhile, is still able to sustain its military effort through oil sales, which Putin discussed during a trip this month to the UAE and Saudi Arabia where he was received with full honours.
In any case, Putin’s re-election campaign, which he launched last week, is unlikely to be forced to address the real economic and human costs of the offensive.
His biggest challenge since the start of the operation came during a wave of protests that sprung up in response to a military call-up that the Kremlin organised in the summer of 2022.
The fear of being enlisted in the army set off temporary panic among draft-age men, prompting tens of thousands to flee into neighbouring former Soviet republics and countries such as Turkey.
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