What You Need to Know: Russian forces are allegedly executing Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs), with over 109 cases since the invasion, according to Ukraine's Prosecutor General. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has documented patterns of abuse by Russian troops against POWs.

-Additionally, Russian commanders reportedly view their troops as expendable “cannon fodder.” Alexander Borodai, a Russian brigade commander, admitted to using low-income soldiers to wear down Ukrainian forces. Despite high casualty rates, Russia's attritional strategy persists.

-As Russia sacrifices manpower in Ukraine, Ukrainian and Western strategies must address this grim tactic, prioritizing countermeasures against Russia's disregard for soldier welfare.

Russia Allegedly Executes Over 100 Ukrainian POWs Amid Ongoing War

Russian forces continue to commit war crimes in Ukraine, executing scores of Ukrainian prisoners of war, according to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General.

At the same time, Russian commanders openly admit that they consider their troops to be second-class citizens used as cannon fodder to attrite the Ukrainian military.

Russian War Crimes in Ukraine War

According to the Ukrainian authorities, the Russian forces have executed at least 109 Ukrainian prisoners of war since February 24, 2022.

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s head of the Department of Combating Crimes Committed in Conditions of Armed Conflict, Yuri Bilousov, said that Russian forces have executed at least 109 Ukrainian troops since the start of the war. Moreover, Bilousov stated that the Russian forces have intensified their illegal activities as of late, with six instances of executions in just the past few days.

“ISW has extensively reported on previous footage and reports of Russian servicemembers executing Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and observed a wider trend of Russian abuses against Ukrainian POWs across various sectors of the front that appeared to be enabled, if not explicitly endorsed, by individual Russian commanders and unpunished by Russian field commanders,” the Institute for the Study of War assessed in its latest operational update.

That Russia is committing war crimes isn’t new. There have been multiple reports of numerous Russian war crimes against both Ukrainian combatants and civilians throughout the conflict.

However, the Russian military’s inhumane treatment of prisoners of war shouldn’t come as a surprise if we consider how the Russian military treats its own troops.

Cannon Fodder

In a recent interview with the Russian outlet RTVI, Alexander Borodai, a Russian assault brigade commander and State Duma deputy (essentially a Russian congressman), admitted that the Russian military is using people of low socioeconomic status as cannon fodder against the Ukrainian positions. The Russian commander said that these are “superfluous people [that] are paid off in a war in order to simply wear out the enemy.”

Borodai was quick to dispute the reporting, claiming that it was taken out of context. But his initial admission is enough to show how the Russian leadership views its own troops—like second-class citizens and cannon fodder for the Ukrainian guns.

According to the latest data released by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, the Russian forces have lost more than 700,000 troops. Just in the past twenty-four hours, approximately 1,400 soldiers were killed or wounded.

However, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how the Kremlin and Russian commanders view their own troops. This is war. No one will care about the rights and feelings of Russian soldiers when they are destroying Ukraine. It is a fact that the Russian military can send more than 1,000 of its own men to die or get maimed every day. Ukraine and its Western partners should find a way to counter that and not just focus on the enemy’s inhumane treatment of its own troops.

About the Author

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.

Image Credit: Creative Commons.