Fighters from Ukraine’s 1st National Guard Corps “Azov” have released drone footage showing what they describe as the execution of an unarmed elderly civilian by Russian forces in Pokrovsk district, Donetsk Oblast, on 28 August.

According to the Azov unit, aerial reconnaissance captured the incident in which a Russian soldier shot and killed an elderly man in his yard. The military unit published the video evidence on their official Telegram channel.

“It is clearly visible that the person was in civilian clothes and without weapons,” the Azov fighters stated in their announcement. 

The unit emphasized that the alleged act constitutes a direct violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons during times of war and armed conflict. 

The Ukrainian forces identified the alleged perpetrator as a serviceman from the 95th separate rifle regiment of the 5th separate motorized rifle brigade of the 51st army of the Russian Armed Forces, according to their intelligence.

The Azov unit characterized the incident as “another proof that for the Russian army there exist neither laws nor morals,” though this represents their assessment rather than an independent verification.

This incident fits within a documented pattern of executions carried out by Russian forces against both civilians and Ukrainian soldiers in frontline zones and occupied territories.

Russian soldiers have been recorded executing civilians often under suspicion of collaboration with Ukrainian forces or information sharing. These killings sometimes occur as collective punishment following attacks on Russian positions, with troops assuming local residents aided Ukrainian forces.

International observers have also documented hundreds of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs), including footage showing captured soldiers killed shortly after surrender.

These documented executions serve multiple purposes according to military analysts, including intimidation tactics, retaliation against resistance, and attempts to undermine Ukrainian military and civilian morale.