Russian propagandists constantly call for executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war. Such appeals have been broadcast on Russian national TV channels since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
This is happening in the context of real war crimes – mass murders and extrajudicial executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war – which are regularly committed by the Russian military in the territories of Ukraine occupied by Russia.
For instance, mass murder of prisoners of war in Volnovakha Correctional Facility No. 120 (Olenivska) in Molodizhne Village committed by Russians on 28 – 29 July 2022.
Another similar crime was recorded on 1 October 2024. On that day, the Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine reported a possible execution of 16 Ukrainian prisoners of war in the area of villages Mykolayivka and Sukhyi Yar in Pokrovskyi District of Donets Region.
In general, Ukrainian law enforcement officials emphasise that such cases are becoming more frequent.
Given the statements by Russian propagandists that ‘there will be no mercy for Ukrainian prisoners of war’, this can be seen as direct incitement to commit war crimes.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russian propagandists have been calling for the execution of Ukrainian prisoners.
Hosts of Russian TV channels and guests, including Russian officials, constantly emphasise that there is no moratorium on the death penalty on the territory of the so-called ‘DPR’, and therefore the death penalty should be applied to captured Ukrainian soldiers.
In such TV shows, the Ukrainian military are called ‘Ukrainian Nazis’ and ‘fascists’. Some units of the Armed Forces are called ‘national battalions’ and proclaim that there will be no mercy for such ‘national battalions’. Some speakers also call for the return of the death penalty to Russian legislation in order to apply it to captured Ukrainians throughout the Russian Federation.
Such actions can be regarded as calls for genocide on the basis of nationality, as propagandists often mention the nationality of the people they call for execution, and at the same time speculate on the archetypes of the Second World War, calling all Ukrainians fascists and Nazis.
For example, on a central Russian TV channel, during a discussion about the surrender of the Azov battalion, one of the speakers stated that the term ‘denazification’ should be understood as ‘neutralisation’.
Russian propagandists also call for the execution of Ukrainian military commanders, public figures and politicians, who are called ‘war criminals’.
For example, Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, stated in a post on his Telegram channel that the death penalty is a fair punishment for representatives of the Ukrainian authorities, whom he calls a ‘neo-Nazi regime’ and ‘fascists’.
At a meeting of the State Duma, one of the Russian deputies, Anatoly Wasserman, proposed to prohibit the exchange of Ukrainian prisoners of war, among other things, because they decorate themselves with tattoos, which Wasserman calls ‘fascist’.
It is important to note that fascist symbols in Russia include the symbols of some Ukrainian organisations that Russia considers terrorist or extremist. Even the image of a trident, a national symbol of Ukraine is included in the list.
In addition to calls for the execution and death penalty of Ukrainian prisoners of war, Russian TV broadcasts statements that ‘there will be no mercy’.
Anna Mykytenko, an expert in international law, explains that according to Article 8, Part 2, paragraph b, subparagraph XII of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, such statements are war crimes per se, provided that they are made by commanders who are in a position to effectively command or control subordinates, who have been ordered to spare the enemy.
For example, on 14 March 2022, Russian General Konashenkov said in a public speech on the Russian Ministry of Defence’s Zvezda TV channel that there would be no mercy for those fighting for Ukraine. This speech was also broadcast on most Russian state TV channels. In particular, on Russia 1, Channel One and NTV.
On 29 October 2024, another Russian general, Ramzan Kadyrov, said on the state-run Vainakh TV channel that he had already given an order not to take prisoners to his subordinates fighting on the front line in Ukraine.
Statements that there will be no mercy are justified as revenge for war crimes committed by Ukrainians. Such statements by Russian military leaders are part of a series of crimes that are regularly and systematically committed in the Russian information space.
Documenting such crimes and preserving the evidence base with these statements is an important element in further establishing justice and punishing those criminals who systematically call for the extermination of Ukrainians.
A list of speakers who spread such calls and statements:
- Maksym Hryhoriev, military propagandist, PhD in political science;
- Anatoliy Matviychuk, retired colonel, military propagandist;
- Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation;
- Igor Konashenkov, Lieutenant General of the Russian Armed Forces;
- Ramzan Kadyrov, Colonel General of the Russian Armed Forces;
- Evgeniy Mikhailov, political scientist;
- Anatoly Wasserman, State Duma deputy;
- Mykyta Danyuk, scholar, analyst, blogger;
- Vladyslav Shurygin, military journalist;
- Leonid Slutsky, Russian politician.
The content was selected by the Crimean Human Rights Group using the Word of War analytical service developed by the NGO Changing Together. The monitoring analysed TV programmes aired in 2022 in the following Russian media: Rossiya 1, Solovyov LIVE, and Channel One. The monitoring list also includes some video channels of Russian and Crimean media and speakers who have a large number of subscribers on Youtube and Rutube and the Telegram messenger.
The methodology for selecting and evaluating content was developed by Yulia Krylova-Grek, PhD in Psychology, researcher at the Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IRES), Uppsala University (Sweden), Associate Professor at the Kyiv Mohyla Academy, based on the results of a previous study by the Crimean Human Rights Group ‘Hate Speech in Online Media Covering Events in Crimea’.
The author of the analysis is the CHRG researcher Iryna Sedova
