BY JON JACKSON ON 6/14/23 AT 1:25 PM
EDT
Russian servicemen stand guard at the destroyed part of the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works in Ukraine's port city of Mariupol on May 18, 2022. This week, Ukraine's security service released a video of two Russian POWs who talk about Russian units that shoot at retreating soldiers.OLGA MALTSEVA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
In a video published Monday by Ukraine's security service, two
Russian prisoners of war described how military units from their country shoot
their own retreating troops.
The two men
were reportedly captured while fighting in the war in Ukraine. One of the two POWs
was identified by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) as a "machine
gunner" in Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).
During an interview with SBU interrogators, the unnamed FSB
operative said he was given orders to open fire on deserters in Ukraine.
"I stood on the
second line and did not allow the 'Z-assault' forces to retreat. The order was to fire to
kill in case they retreat," the Russian said, according to a translation
by the Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform.
The SBU referred to the other captured man as a "Z-assault" unit soldier, who reportedly said he was afraid that his own comrades would kill him if he fled from battle. As a result, he decided to surrender to Ukrainian troops.
"After arriving there [at the position],
we didn't get any instructions, they told us to get into the bush and hide from
the 'birds.' These are quadcopters. In case we decided to retreat, we were told
that there are blocking units behind us.... They would shoot anyone
fleeing," the soldier said, according to Ukrinform.
The SBU shared a clip of its interrogation of the two Russian POWs on
Telegram and its YouTube channel.
Ukrinform wrote that the FSB member was in charge of a
"blocking unit." Such units, sometimes called "barrier
troops," are tasked with enforcing military discipline, which includes
preventing soldiers from running away from battle.
In a post about the POWs' comments on its website, the SBU said
it had previously intercepted communications, which were from an unspecified
date, that allegedly confirm the use of blocking units by Russia.
Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
via email for comment.
The
admissions from the POWs came as a Ukrainian Telegram channel published drone footage on
Monday that reportedly shows three Russian soldiers shooting
retreating comrades.
That video
was posted by Ishi Svoikh, also known as "Look for Your Own," which
is a project created with the backing of Ukraine's Ministry of Internal
Affairs. The Kyiv Post wrote
that the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN confirmed the video's authenticity and
identified the soldiers who opened fire as barrier troops.
Asked about
barrier troops in a previous story on the drone footage, Jason Jay Smart, a
political adviser on post-Soviet and international politics, told Newsweek that "Russians
shooting their own troops has a long tradition in Russian military history,
and it has been commonplace throughout this war."
He added, "This incident, showing a total lack of concern
or interest in preserving human life, is the epitome of how the Russian
military thinks and behaves."
https://www.newsweek.com/russian-soldiers-admit-military-shooting-its-own-members-1806729
Video Shows Russian
Military Shooting Own Retreating Troops: Ukraine Media
Российский заградотряд расстреливает своих же отступающих солдат?
— Activatica (@Activatica) June 12, 2023
В тг-канале «Ищи своих» появилось видео, в котором, как утверждают авторы канала, заградотряд расстреливает убегающих с поля боя российских военных.
Подтвердить подлинность видео редакция Activatica не может pic.twitter.com/VFwtsVXp7I
https://www.newsweek.com/video-shows-russian-military-shooting-own-retreating-troops-ukraine-media-1806118
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