A video of Ukrainian POWs killed by men identified as Russians raises questions on accountability

ROME (AP) — Two videos, two different stories about Russia’s war in Ukraine. In one of them, the prisoners appear to live. In the other, they die.

The Associated Press has obtained a video from a Ukrainian drone showing soldiers with Russian uniform markings killing Kyiv's forces who had surrendered to them. It also has discovered a second video, recorded by a Russian drone, of the same incident that sheds light on how Moscow is framing it.

These videos, analyzed together, tell a larger story at a crucial time in the 3-year-old war. Evidence of alleged atrocities is mounting. Chances for accountability are at risk. U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed for a peace deal and echoed narratives of Russian President Vladimir Putin — the very man who war crimes prosecutors want to see in court.

Here’s what to know about the images and their implications:

It was taken by Ukraine’s 128th Mountain Brigade in what was left of the village of Piatykhatky in southern Ukraine on March 13, according to military officials with a European country that Ukrainian authorities shared the video with. The AP obtained the video from the officials on condition they not be identified because they were not authorized to release it.

The video shows the four Ukrainians who had surrendered, lying face-down on the ground. After they're searched, one Russian walks to the prisoners, raises his gun and starts firing. Another soldier shoots, too, then has to reload. A third Russian joins in, firing at least two shots at close range that take off the helmet — and the head — of one of the men. The soldier who reloaded then finishes off the four, methodically shooting each.

The video recorded by a Russian drone in Piatykhatky on the same day was found by AP on pro-Kremlin social media. It is set to eerie, ominous music and follows three Russian soldiers as they coax the surrendering Ukrainians out of the ruined house at gunpoint. But it cuts off with the Ukrainian soldiers lying on the ground — alive.

Intense fighting has devastated the area in the Zaporizhzhia region of southern Ukraine as both sides scramble to seize territory ahead of peace talks.

Ukraine’s 128th Mountain Brigade said it could not comment because the deaths are being investigated as a suspected war crime. Ukraine’s internal security agency confirmed it opened an investigation.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense did not respond to requests for comment.

Asked about Russia’s treatment of Ukrainian POWs, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia treats Ukrainian troops who surrender in accordance with international law and does not encourage the killing of POWs.

A Russian Foreign Ministry report in March claimed Ukrainian soldiers systematically kill Russian POWs. It offered no overall numbers.

“Out of all the executions that we’ve seen since late 2023, it’s one of the clearest cases,” said Rollo Collins of the Center for Information Resilience, a London group that specializes in visual investigations and reviewed the Ukrainian video at AP’s request. “Our assessment is that this is not a typical combat killing. This is an illegal action.”

Ukrainian prosecutors and United Nations officials say such extrajudicial killings of Ukrainian POWs — a crime under international law — have surged and are being encouraged by high-ranking Russian officials.

“We’ve documented a startling spike in the number of executions of captured Ukrainian service persons,” said Danielle Bell, the head of the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. “Calls on social media by public officials, amnesty laws, dehumanizing language within the context of impunity for these acts — it’s contributing to an environment that allows such acts or these crimes to take place.”

At least 245 Ukrainian POWs have been killed by Russian forces since the war began, according to Ukrainian prosecutors.

“It’s definitely part of the policy, which is fully supported by the top leaders of the Russian Federation,” Yurii Bielousov, head of the war crimes department for Ukraine’s prosecutor general, told AP. “This isn’t the action of specific commanders. It is supported on the top level.”

The U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine documented 91 extrajudicial killings of Ukrainian POWs since August 2024. In the same period, they found one case of Ukrainian soldiers killing a Russian POW.

Bielousov said all such allegations against Ukrainian troops are being investigated.

Ukraine has registered more than 157,000 incidents of potential war crimes since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has long held that accountability for war crimes should be part of any peace agreement.

Russia's Investigative Committee, the country's top investigation agency, said in December it had opened over 5,700 criminal cases into alleged Ukrainian crimes since the war began.

The Trump administration has withdrawn support for a multinational effort to create a special tribunal to investigate Russian leaders for aggression in Ukraine and imposed sanctions on key staff of the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Putin.

Cuts to U.S. foreign aid have debilitated groups that collect evidence and work with Ukrainian authorities to build robust legal cases. Questions are also growing about whether amnesty for Russian officials might be part of a U.S.-brokered peace deal.

Stephen Rapp, a former U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, said the absence of U.S. support will diminish hopes of prosecutions.

Bielousov said Ukraine "is not ready to forgive everything which happened in our territory.”

Leicester reported from Paris and Dupuy reported from New York. Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Molly Quell in The Hague, Netherlands, and Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.

This image taken from video that European military officials say was filmed by a Ukrainian drone in the southern Ukrainian village of Piatykhatky on March 13, 2025, shows three soldiers with red helmets and uniform markings identified as Russian surrounding four Ukrainian soldiers who appear to have surrendered and are laying on the ground. (Ukraine Military/European Defense Officials via AP)

This image taken from video that European military officials say was filmed by a Ukrainian drone in the southern Ukrainian village of Piatykhatky on March 13, 2025, shows three soldiers with red helmets and uniform markings identified as Russian surrounding four Ukrainian soldiers who appear to have surrendered and are laying on the ground. (Ukraine Military/European Defense Officials via AP)

This image taken from video that European military officials say was filmed by a Ukrainian drone in the southern Ukrainian village of Piatykhatky on March 13, 2025, shows a soldier, left, identified as Russian, pointing his gun at four Ukrainian soldiers on the ground who appear to have surrendered. (Ukraine Military/European Defense Officials via AP)

This image taken from video that European military officials say was filmed by a Ukrainian drone in the southern Ukrainian village of Piatykhatky on March 13, 2025, shows a soldier, left, identified as Russian, pointing his gun at a Ukrainian soldier who appears to be surrendering after emerging from the ruins of a house to join other Ukrainian prisoners on the ground. (Ukraine Military/European Defense Officials via AP)

U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic as an ongoing crackdown on demonstrators has led to hundreds of deaths.

Trump said late Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports mount of increasing deaths and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night.

Iran did not acknowledge Trump’s comments immediately. It has previously warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has accurately reported on past unrest in Iran, gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran cross checking information. It said at least 544 people have been killed so far, including 496 protesters and 48 people from the security forces. It said more than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

The Latest:

A witness told the AP that the streets of Tehran empty at the sunset call to prayers each night.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, addressed “Dear parents,” which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

—- By Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Iran drew tens of thousands of pro-government demonstrators to the streets Monday in a show of power after nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy.

Iranian state television showed images of demonstrators thronging Tehran toward Enghelab Square in the capital.

It called the demonstration an “Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism,” without addressing the underlying anger in the country over the nation’s ailing economy. That sparked the protests over two weeks ago.

State television aired images of such demonstrations around the country, trying to signal it had overcome the protests, as claimed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier in the day.

China says it opposes the use of force in international relations and expressed hope the Iranian government and people are “able to overcome the current difficulties and maintain national stability.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday that Beijing “always opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs, maintains that the sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law, and opposes the use or threat of use of force in international relations.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned “in the strongest terms the violence that the leadership in Iran is directing against its own people.”

He said it was a sign of weakness rather than strength, adding that “this violence must end.”

Merz said during a visit to India that the demonstrators deserve “the greatest respect” for the courage with which “they are resisting the disproportional, brutal violence of Iranian security forces.”

He said: “I call on the Iranian leadership to protect its population rather than threatening it.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday suggested that a channel remained open with the United States.

Esmail Baghaei made the comment during a news conference in Tehran.

“It is open and whenever needed, through that channel, the necessary messages are exchanged,” he said.

However, Baghaei said such talks needed to be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”

The semiofficial Fars news agency in Iran, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, on Monday began calling out Iranian celebrities and leaders on social media who have expressed support for the protests over the past two weeks, especially before the internet was shut down.

The threat comes as writers and other cultural leaders were targeted even before protests. The news agency highlighted specific celebrities who posted in solidarity with the protesters and scolded them for not condemning vandalism and destruction to public property or the deaths of security forces killed during clashes. The news agency accused those celebrities and leaders of inciting riots by expressing their support.

Canada said it “stands with the brave people of Iran” in a statement on social media that strongly condemned the killing of protesters during widespread protests that have rocked the country over the past two weeks.

“The Iranian regime must halt its horrific repression and intimidation and respect the human rights of its citizens,” Canada’s government said on Monday.

Iran’s foreign minister claimed Monday that “the situation has come under total control” after a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in the country.

Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim.

Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.

Iran’s foreign minister alleged Monday that nationwide protests in his nation “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene.

Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim, which comes after over 500 have been reported killed by activists -- the vast majority coming from demonstrators.

Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.

Iran has summoned the British ambassador over protesters twice taking down the Iranian flag at their embassy in London.

Iranian state television also said Monday that it complained about “certain terrorist organization that, under the guise of media, spread lies and promote violence and terrorism.” The United Kingdom is home to offices of the BBC’s Persian service and Iran International, both which long have been targeted by Iran.

A huge crowd of demonstrators, some waving the flag of Iran, gathered Sunday afternoon along Veteran Avenue in LA’s Westwood neighborhood to protest against the Iranian government. Police eventually issued a dispersal order, and by early evening only about a hundred protesters were still in the area, ABC7 reported.

Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.

Los Angeles police responded Sunday after somebody drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with the the demonstrators, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver. A police statement said one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt.

The driver, a man who was not identified, was detained “pending further investigation,” police said in a statement Sunday evening.

Shiite Muslims hold placards and chant slogans during a protest against the U.S. and show solidarity with Iran in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Activists carrying a photograph of Reza Pahlavi take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House, in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Activists take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Protesters burn the Iranian national flag during a rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)