Current Events > NYT: Russian soldier told girlfriend he was told to 'kill everyone we see'

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https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-soldier-told-girlfriend-he-was-ordered-kill-civilians-nyt-2022-9

One Russian soldier in Kyiv recounted in a phone call how his commander ordered troops to kill Ukrainian civilians to conceal their locations, which is a war crime under international law.
The call was just one of many unauthorized phone calls made in March by Russian soldiers, which were intercepted from the Bucha area a suburb of Kyiv where civilians were massacred by Ukrainian law enforcement agencies. The New York Times obtained, verified, and translated the recordings.
The calls reveal the bleak reality Russian soldiers faced in the early weeks of the war in Ukraine, which began in late February. The Times report documented soldiers reporting back to their mothers, friends, and girlfriends on some of the atrocities they witnessed and participated in.
In one call to his girlfriend, a Russian soldier identified only by his first name, Sergey, said his commander had given an order to take Ukrainian civilians to the forest to execute them.
"They told us that, where we're going, there's a lot of civilians walking around. And they gave us the order to kill everyone we see," Sergey said, according to The Times.
His girlfriend responded: "Why the fuck?"
"Because they might give away our positions. ... That's what we're fucking going to do, it seems," Sergey replied, per the report. "Kill any civilian that walks by and drag them into the forest. ... I've already become a murderer. that's why I don't want to kill any more people, especially ones I will have to look in the eyes."
Killing civilians is a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
According to the statute, "intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities" would be considered one of the "serious violations of the laws" in international armed conflict.
The United Nations previously accused Russia of committing a long list of war crimes in Ukraine.
Some atrocities listed include sexual violence, torture, and "indiscriminate attacks with explosive weapons," according to Erik Mse, who led the UN's investigation into human rights violations and crimes committed in Ukraine.
In another recording between Sergey and his girlfriend, the Russian soldier said a captain ordered the execution of three men, in part because their unit didn't have enough food to feed themselves.
"We detained them, undressed them, and checked all their clothes. Then a decision had to be made whether to let them go," Sergey said. "If we let them go, they could give away our position. ... So it was decided to shoot them in the forest."
When his girlfriend asked why they weren't taken as prisoners, he replied: "We would have had to feed them, and we don't have enough food ourselves, you see."
The UN wasn't the only international entity to suspect Russia of committing atrocities in Ukraine. Russian forces, who have repeatedly targeted civilians since the war began, have been widely accused of committing war crimes in Ukraine including by world leaders and top human rights groups.
President Joe Biden has gone as far to accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of committing "genocide" in Ukraine. Biden said in April that Putin was vying to "wipe out the idea of even being a Ukrainian."

Apparently Russia needs to suffer Japan's post-WW2 fate, no self-ran military.

Jeezus...

St0rmFury posted...

Jeezus...

I'm not defending them. What they ordered is wholly wrong and nobody should ever obey any such kind of order and are wholly justified in disobeying any such order.

However, from a detached, emotionless view, I can see how their commanders might come to a conclusion to issue such an order. It can be seen as being to save the lives of their own men, as much as it would be to be to want to inflict as much morale shattering acts as possible to your enemy.

Again, they're illegal, immoral, and unethical orders that should never be followed, but an untested, unknowledgable, or uncaring Officer may be compelled to issue them anyways under at least the guise of "I was just trying to keep my men as safe as possible"

It's also likely neither here nor there, the CO who issued it is most likely dead and got what he fucking deserved.

i mean, we did already have plenty of evidence that it's happening, so this won't surprise me.
there was a video from the early days of the invasion that Russian soldiers shooting every car that crossed with them.

NATO won't do anything about it.

Meaningless organization.

megamanfreakXD posted...

NATO won't do anything about it.

Meaningless organization.

You only get the benefits of NATO if you're a member. Ukraine is not a member.

He could have shot his commanding officer instead.

Reminder that a genocidal country that claims its neighbors have no right to exist and fights wars like a Mongol horde is a permanent member of the UN Security Council with full veto powers

How is he just candidly talking to his girlfriend back home about what theyre doing?

DrPrimemaster posted...

How is he just candidly talking to his girlfriend back home about what theyre doing?

Phones are ubiquitous in a modern military.