Warning: This article contains graphic photos and descriptions of graphic scenes. A decomposed human hand with the remains of flesh, bleak and brown save for one splash of color — two thin blue-yellow rubber bracelets. The colors of the Ukrainian national flag. The hand was from a body of the hundreds

Warning: This article contains graphic photos and descriptions of graphic scenes.

Videos and photos of brutal executions have been appearing online more frequently since the spring of 2023. In March 2023, a video was published on Telegram showing Russian soldiers shooting a captive Ukrainian soldier after he said “Glory to Ukraine.” Only a month later, a different video showed Russian soldiers cutting off the head of a Ukrainian soldier as he screamed in pain. At the end of the video, a Russian soldier holds up the severed head.

Cases like this continue to surface in 2024, often accompanied by horrendous videos. Some of them feature decapitation and mutilation of bodies.

. . .

It’s impossible to know how many Ukrainian soldiers have been executed after being taken captive. Recording and investigating such crimes is extremely difficult due to limited access. Since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, the United Nations has documented the execution of 42 Ukrainian service members. Ukraine has documented 102 such executions as of October 2022. The actual figure could be much higher.

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