A RUSSIAN soldier told his wife how he forced innocent Ukrainian civilians onto their knees before callously shooting them in the head.
The man described how his victims burst into tears and pleaded with him to spare their lives - but all to no avail. The horrifying details were revealed in a phone call to his wife, that was intercepted and then published on social media by Ukraine's military intelligence. The soldier's confessions will add to the litany of war crimes that Putin's army is accused of committing against civilians during its military campaign in the country.
Ukraine's government is actively investigating numerous cases and says more than 11,000 crimes may have been committed.
In the phone call, the soldier tells his wife Nastya: "When there were civilians, I threw them into trenches.
"I shot them in the head, killed them. They cried and begged me, but I shot them all the same."
When asked by Nastya whether he is proud of his deeds, he replies: "I am not proud. I simply don't care.
"I will come home alive and well. I will bring up my son."
He then goes on to tell his wife how he cruelly mocked the civilians before pulling the trigger.
The soldier says: "Nastya, I forced those Ukrainians onto their knees.
"They begged me - they said 'Russia forever' and I forced them to say 'Russia forever'".
Throughout the brutal war, Putin's army has deliberately targeted civilians as it furiously attempts to overcome fierce Ukrainian resistance.
The UN's rights office (OHCHR) estimates that at least 4,000 civilians have been killed, including around 200 children.
However, the UN cautioned the true number is likely to be much higher in a sobering assessment it produced at the end of May.
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In a statement, the UN claimed most of the civilian casualties "were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes.”
They added: “OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration.”
It comes as the UN warned Moscow that the death sentences passed on three foreign soldiers fighting for Ukraine could amount to a war crime.
British citizens Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner, and Moroccan national Saadoun Brahim signed up to fight for Ukraine and were subsequently captured by Russian forces.
On Thursday, the three were sentenced to death by authorities in eastern Ukraine’s breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).
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However, the OHCHR said the pro-Russian separatists had failed to give the men a fair trial.
A spokeswoman for the organisations said: "OHCHR is concerned about the so-called Supreme Court of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic sentencing three servicemen to death.
“According to the chief command of Ukraine, all the men were part of the Ukrainian armed forces and if that is the case, they should not be considered as mercenaries.
“Such trials against prisoners of war amount to a war crime.”
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1623977/russia-news-soldier-shoots-ukrainian-civilains-in-head-vladimir-putin-ukraine-war
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