Drone footage allegedly shows Russian soldiers lining up and executing 16 Ukraine soldiers

A shocking video shot by a drone appears to show the moment Russian soldiers shot down 16 Ukrainian prisoners of war. Ukraine has alleged that Russia is acting on Vladimir Putin's murderous policy that authorises the killing of POWs.

The video and images are circulating on the Telegram app.

"This is the largest reported case of the execution of Ukrainian POWs on the front line and yet another indication that the killing and torture of prisoners of war are not isolated incidents," Ukraine's prosecutor general Andriy Kostin said on X. "This is a deliberate policy of the Russian military and political leadership."

The soldiers had surrendered on the eastern front line when they were lined up and shot down, according to reports.

The video supposedly shows 16 soldiers who had surrendered emerging from a forest under Russian control near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, as per reports. The POWs stand in a line in an open space before Putin's troops appear to gun them down.

Those who seemed to survive the shooting were killed at short range by automatic weapons, Ukraine alleged.

The Ukraine prosecutor general office said on the Telegram messaging app it was looking into the video shared. The video has not been verified yet and the SBU security service of Ukraine is working to do so.

"An investigation has been initiated into another war crime by the Russian army," said Ukrainian prosecutor-general Andriy Kostin.

"This is the most massive known case of the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war on the front line. It is further evidence that the murders and torture of prisoners are not an accident, but a purposeful policy of the Russian military and political leadership."

Russia has not commented on the video.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian parliament's commissioner for human rights, said that he has sent letters to the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross reporting the alleged massacre.

"The systematic crimes against Ukrainian prisoners of war must be stopped, and those responsible must be held accountable," he said.

Similar videos have emerged in the past as well during the more than two-year-long war being fought between Russia and Ukraine.

(With inputs from agencies)