Kiev, Ukraine
CNN
–
The radio crackled, but it was clear that the order had barred it. He captured the commander and killed others.
The calm exchange was part of a series of radio transmissions between Russian troops, where Ukrainian officials were providing further evidence that Russian superiors were ordering soldiers to carry out Ukrainian troops surrendering in violation of international law.
Radio communications intercepted by Ukraine, obtained by CNN from officials of the Ukrainian intelligence agency, appears to be in time for drone footage of suspected executions by Russian soldiers in the Zaporidia region of eastern Ukraine last November. The footage shows six soldiers lying towards the ground, with at least two people being shot in the area of the point blank and another marching.
These deaths are under investigation by Ukrainian prosecutors who shared screenshots of the drone video on social media following the incident. Ukrainian officials familiar with the investigation said the same radio intercept obtained by CNN is being considered as part of the investigation into the killing.
Although CNN could not independently authenticate radio traffic or confirm that communications were directly linked to drone footage, forensic experts who analyzed the audio files appeared to be unmanaged.
Listen to intercepted Russian radio transmissions obtained by CNN
A major UN investigator and an official from the Western intelligence agency told CNN that radio transmissions and footage of the drone coincided with other Russian troops allegedly executed a surrendered Ukrainian force.
Radio transmissions and drone footage, as reported by the UN, suggest the killing of soldiers surrendered by Russian forces, said Morris Tidbor Bins, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary enforcement, as reported by the UN.
Tidball-Binz, who investigated similar suspicious executions, called such an incident, a “serious violation” of international law, and added that he believes the act will only be approved by the highest authorities in Russia.
They “will not happen in Russia with such numbers and frequencies without orders from the highest military commander, or at least without consent,” he said.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has not responded to requests for comment on CNN’s allegations.
Russian officials previously denied that Russian forces committed war crimes and insisted that Russia handled prisoners of war according to international law.
Amid widespread accusations that Russian troops are held responsible for war crimes in Ukraine, the alleged enforcement of prisoners could complicate US President Donald Trump’s efforts to bring quick conclusions to the war. Trump tried to end the fight with a volatile approach that often saw him with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his administration temporarily suspended the State Department’s initiative to track alleged war crimes by Moscow.
Officials from the Western intelligence agency reviewed the audio intercept file with CNN and said, “We found it to be consistent with previously documented brutal executions. It is clear that the soldiers will receive an order to execute the surrendered Ukrainian soldiers.”
Officials said they are looking into similar materials from other cases. This “strengthens evidence of instructions from Russian commanders and kills Ukrainian soldiers who have surrendered or are in the process of surrender.”
The Ukrainian Security Services (SBU) told CNN that Russian soldiers from the “storm unit” of the 594th Automotive Rifle Regiment (127th Electric Rifle Division) were involved in the November attack. The SBU said it linked the same “storm unit” to another suspicious execution in the same area, that is, beheadings of captured Ukrainian soldiers, and charged the Russian commander from the unit that it said was responsible.
The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office said as of May 5, it had launched 75 criminal investigations into prison suspects of 268 Ukrainian prisoners. The number of suspected enforcement of Ukrainian prisoners is on the rise, with eight cases involving 57 soldiers in 2022, 11 soldiers in 2023, 39 with 149 soldiers in 2024, 20 cases this year, with 51 soldiers.
Yurii Bielousov, head of the war crimes department of the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office, said the rise “is attributed to instructions given by the top leaders of the Russian Federation, both political and military.
Ukraine’s leading war crimes prosecutor speaks to CNN
Beersov said Putin said that Ukrainian soldiers captured in Russia’s Kursk region in March should be treated as terrorists. “Everyone knows how Putin treats people he calls terrorists, so that’s pretty much synonymous with what we do,” he said.
Bodan Oklimenko, executive director of Ukraine’s coordination headquarters for the treatment of Ukrainian prisoners, said another possible explanation of the killing wanted to avoid logistical issues with Russian troops capturing and managing prisoners. “It complicates military logistics from their perspective. The Russian orders made a simple decision to shoot captive prisoners.”
“Capture the commander and kill everyone else.”
The transmission of radio intercepted by Ukraine appears to capture a Russian commander. The Russian commander speaks with frontline forces, whose name and rank are not established by the CNN. In the recording, two Russians are mentioned by Calligns, “Arta” and “Beliy.”
Officials from the Ukrainian intelligence agency shared a transcription of the radio transmission. This was intercepted at 12:05pm local time when the Ukrainian status was attacked and continued until 12:31pm, saying that Russian commanders ordered their retreat in clear fear of the arrival of the Ukrainian drone.
The CNN could not independently verify the time the transmission was intercepted.
The Russian commander can be heard ordering the murder on six separate occasions. According to transcripts of intercepted transmissions, the commander’s first order was given at 12:22pm
“Ask who the commander is. Who is the commander? Ask them. Be taken prisoner and kill everyone else,” he can say.
After 4 minutes, he repeats the order twice.
“You do that. Be captive and get others.”
“That’s it. Take your senior and remove the other people’s f**k!”
Commanders frequently request updates from combat forces struggling to reply. “Someone, b*tch, answer, is f**kers surrendered?”
The soldier introduced by Callign, “Arta,” who is believed to be his main interlocutor, says he has not found a Ukrainian commander, but is the only “senior.”
The drone footage obtained by CNN only covers it from 12:27pm to 12:30pm, according to the video’s time code, but there appears to be a clear connection between the commands captured in the transmission and the commands that occur on the ground in the drone footage.
At 12:28pm, the radio will receive a sixth order and you can see soldiers wearing masks matching the Russian army and dark green uniforms coming out of the leaves, moving towards the prisoners of war.
“Please leave f**k! Take your senior and remove others, f**k!” the commander said.
It appears to be a grainy image of a Ukrainian soldier making apparent gestures to the Russians. After a while, the masked soldier shoots him in his head. The voice of the Russian commander is captured in the transmission and asks if the killing is complete.
“Did you defeat them? Question. Did you take them down? Question.”
“Alta! Alta! I’m beliy, Roger!”
“We killed another person.”
In the footage, another Ukrainian, perhaps a commander who had not moved up to that point, gets up to get rid of his body armor and is taken away. The Russian commander is seen radioing his concerns as a drone, rising onto the smoke from the explosion. A retreat will then be ordered.
The footage matches satellite images of the village of Novodarivka reviewed by CNN, a nonprofit that documents potential human rights abuses, and the Center for Information Resilience. Images taken by Maxar Technologies in October 2024 show fields with similar vegetation, tree lines and craters as seen in drone videos.
Robert Maher, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Montana State University, specializes in forensic audio analysis and looked into CNN’s radio chattering. According to Maher, the audio recordings of the transmission, sent to CNN in numerous files, all appeared to be consistent. He said he said, “There are no signs they’re not real.”
The killing of the surrender of the Ukrainian army is argued by Ukrainian officials and international experts as part of Russia’s policy. The incident appears to be one of the first times when intercepted radio transmissions are linked to footage of a suspected drone that was carried out.
CNN first reported on the suspect’s policies last September, detailing a video showing the apparent executions of three surrendered Ukrainians by Russian troops in August last year near Pokrovsk city in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials argue that the suspect is supported by cultural hatred towards Russian opponents, but aims to be psychologically impacted. Oklimenko said Russian soldiers have posted videos of beheading and castration of Ukrainian forces to affect morale.
“Violence breeds violence,” he said, adding that Ukraine has increased its staff training to ensure that Russian prisoners are safely detained for later exchanges.
