Russia’s executions of Ukrainian prisoners point to systematic policy
FT documentary investigates rise in cases of Russian soldiers executing Ukrainian POWs
A Financial Times investigative documentary has found evidence that Russian executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war are not isolated incidents but are likely to be part of a broader pattern that points to a systematic policy.
The investigation reveals the suspected identity of one Russian soldier who is filmed taking part in the mass execution of surrendered Ukrainian soldiers. It also raises questions about chain of command and the Kremlin’s role in these war crimes.
Ukraine’s national police have initiated more than 125,000 war crimes proceedings for a range of different offences since the start of the full-scale invasion. Prosecutors said execution cases rose dramatically last year: in 2024, they launched investigations into 43 incidents involving 133 suspected deaths.
Yuriy Belousov, head of Ukraine’s war crimes department in the office of the prosecutor-general, described investigating Russian executions as their "priority number one". "It’s definitely part of the policy. It’s a system that we see," he told the FT.
Oleg Yakovlev, a 32-year-old soldier in Russia’s 30th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, posted the now-deleted video of the mass execution on his YouTube channel in January.
The footage shows a hooded Russian soldier ordering unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war towards a pile of logs. The soldier and other Russian troops shoot six Ukrainians in the back at close range.
Oleg Yakovlev — a Russian soldier suspected of executing Ukrainian prisoners of war © FT research/Facebook
The Russian soldiers refer to the hooded man in the video by the call sign "Sara". This is the same name Yakovlev uses to refer to himself in an online rap video, and a name called out to him in another video posted on his YouTube channel. Ukrainian war crimes investigators have opened a probe into the killings.
Stills from the now-deleted video show the execution of Ukrainian soldiers
The FT asked a team of audio forensics professionals to compare the voice in the execution video with Yakovlev’s social media clips. The team, made up of associates of the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences, concluded that the audio fingerprints of the videos displayed "strong elements of similarity". Because of the way that social media compresses audio files, definitive matches are difficult.
Yakovlev denied involvement, adding that the Russian soldier in the video had "killed those guys for a reason".
His unit has been implicated in multiple war crimes, including battlefield executions, according to Ukrainian authorities. In July, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the brigade an award for "bravery and heroism".
The Kremlin and the Russian defence and foreign ministries did not respond to requests for comment. Moscow has in the past dismissed allegations of executions as "propaganda", and its military command has even handed awards to soldiers accused by Kyiv of involvement in the killing of four Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The FT documentary mapped more than 30 suspected execution cases, many captured on drone and mobile phone footage, to show how incidents have taken place all along the frontline. Prosecutors and human rights organisations say this is evidence that the executions are not the actions of rogue units, but part of a systematic policy.
"On any territory where they have a fight now with our guys, our soldiers are all at high risk of being executed," said Belousov. "Again, it’s a sign of the policy."
Additional reporting by Alison Killing, Chris Campbell, Peter Andringa, Rachel Rees and Sam Joiner
