Beheading on camera – the Wagners are said to have committed even more atrocities

In the war against Ukraine, the mercenary group Wagner has become Russia’s shadow army – the group for the particularly dirty jobs. The military company founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin is notorious for its extremely brutal approach. And also for the war crimes it committed – and probably still commits – in the war in Ukraine.

“Wagner’s forces reportedly continue to commit war crimes,” the Institute For The Study Of War (ISW) wrote Tuesday. The ISW writes that they would have beheaded Ukrainian soldiers in Bakhmut.

“Russian users post images on social media claiming to show the remains of a Ukrainian soldier’s head on a spike in an unspecified area in Bakhmut,” the ISW said. “Users then pointed to cases of impaled heads in Propasna, a city in the Luhansk region. The Wagner mercenaries operated there in the spring and summer of last year,” the ISW continues.

The Geneva Convention prohibits the mutilation and looting of corpses in time of war, which amounts to a war crime.

Brutal and inhumane videos

A video has recently circulated online showing the execution of a Ukrainian soldier. Like the footage cited by the ISW, it documents a war crime. However, it has not yet been verified whether the video really comes from the Wagner group – but in terms of brutality, it is in no way inferior to the group’s actions.

The video shows a blindfolded Ukrainian soldier being pushed to the ground by another soldier, most likely a Russian. The Ukrainian initially tries in vain to free himself from his grasp. But the attacker put the knife to the Ukrainian’s neck and began to cut off his victim’s head. After a little over a minute, the head is separated from the body. The Russian then holds his head in front of the camera.

In addition to this video, another video is said to have appeared in the past week, which is probably more recent, writes the Kronen Zeitung. This video is also said to have been made in Bachmut. It is said that decapitated bodies of Ukrainian soldiers can be seen next to a destroyed armored vehicle. According to the CNN news channel, a fighter from the Wagner team said: “The vehicle was destroyed by a mine. They were killed. Someone beheaded her.”

It is not yet clear whether these war crimes were committed by the Wagner troops. But they fit in with the known crimes of the Wagners so far.

Zelensky’s response

On Wednesday morning, President Zelensky responded to the video showing the beheading of the Ukrainian:

The Ukrainian president explained that it was neither an accident nor an isolated case. No one would understand if leaders didn’t respond to the video. “We must act now!” shouts the 45-year-old.

He compares the situation to the Bucha case. “We won’t forget anything and we won’t forgive,” he adds.

Andriy Yermak, head of the Kiev Presidential Office, stressed on Twitter: “There will be an answer to everything.”

An official Ukrainian government telegram channel stated that Yermak’s words referred to “a Russian execution video”, writes the “Kronen Zeitung”.

The Ukrainian embassy in Germany also comments on this:

Russia’s response

In contrast, on pro-Russian channels, the Ukrainian side is said to be behind the videos. The reason for the crimes is that they want to “disguise the identity of the soldiers”.

The Kremlin also doubts the authenticity of the beheading video. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday, according to Interfax news agency:

More comments

The video circulating online of the executed soldier is deeply shocking. Many are baffled and react to the crime on Twitter.

The Union Watch collective even advises against viewing the video because it is so brutal.

Another user writes, “Don’t ask me where to find the video and don’t post it on Twitter.” He compares the Wagners to IS.

Many politicians and journalists are also shocked:

Meanwhile, the battle for Bachmut is still in full swing. Wagner Group mercenaries and Ukrainian defenders battle for control of the strategically important city. The Battle of Bakhmut is the longest running Russian offensive in Ukraine.

Before the outbreak of the war, the city had a population of 70,000, but after months of fighting it has been largely destroyed and abandoned. Given the fighting that has been going on for months, with heavy casualties, Bakhmut has taken on great symbolic significance for both sides.