Audio clips allegedly recording Russian commanders giving orders to execute captured Ukrainian soldiers have been revealed by CNN. The conversations, which the news network obtained from a Ukrainian intelligence official, appear to coincide with footage captured by a drone from the Zaporizhia region of eastern Ukraine, where soldiers can be seen being executed at point-blank range.

The footage, dating from November 2024, shows six Ukrainian soldiers lying on the ground. At least two are executed in cold blood, while another is taken away by a Russian soldier. Ukrainian authorities have already launched an investigation into the incident, and the footage is being assessed by the war prosecutor’s office.

According to audio clips, the Russian commander repeated the order at least six times in a matter of minutes: “Arrest the commander, kill the others”. The orders are given to soldiers identified by the pseudonyms “Arta” and “Beliy“. One of them replies:“We didn’t find a commander, only a superior.”

The last command gives the cue for execution. Drone footage shows a soldier in a Russian army uniform emerging from the vegetation and shooting a Ukrainian in the head. The commander confirms by radio: “Did you take them out? We took out the f—ing others.” Shortly afterwards, a prisoner is led away, and the commander orders a retreat under the threat of a Ukrainian drone.

International condemnation and war crimes investigations

The UN, through its Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, Morris Tindall-Binz, condemned the incident as a “serious violation of international law” and assessed that such acts could not possibly occur “without orders or approval from the highest military leadership, namely the Kremlin.”

The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office has already opened 75 criminal cases on 268 recorded executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war. According to the data, the incidents are increasing dramatically: from 8 cases with 57 victims in 2022, they reach 20 cases with 51 deaths in the first quarter of 2025 alone.

Yuri Bialusov, head of the war crimes department at the prosecutor’s office, said: “We have documented orders from political and military leaders of Russia. We don’t have documents yet, but there are several testimonies of verbal orders for executions.”

“They just kill them, they don’t want prisoners”

Bohdan Uhirmenko, head of the Ukrainian office for prisoner treatment, believes that the Russian staff is ordering executions to avoid the “burden” of prisoners: “Prisoner management creates problems. The simple decision was: we execute them.”

He noted that similar acts, such as beheadings and mutilations of Ukrainian soldiers, have been published by Russian soldiers for psychological influence. “Violence begets violence, he said, adding that Ukraine has stepped up training for its personnel on the humane treatment of Russian prisoners.

Previous crimes

The November incident does not appear to be an isolated incident. The same unit of Russian forces, the Storm of the 394th Mechanized Regiment, had been linked to other heinous acts, including the beheading of a Ukrainian soldier in the same area. The commanders of this unit have already been charged in absentia by the Ukrainian authorities.

Western intelligence officials have confirmed the reliability of the audio recordings, noting that they are consistent with previous incidents. “It is clear that the soldier is receiving orders to execute Ukrainians who have surrendered,” a Western analyst told CNN.