Report: Western Mercenaries Allegedly Killed Russian POWs

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Facts

  • Following an investigation, The New York Times has alleged that an American-led foreign mercenary group in Ukraine — Chosen Company, led by former US Army National Guard soldier Ryan O'Leary — has killed unarmed and injured Russian soldiers who had surrendered.1
  • The report cited Caspar Grosse — a German combat medic who allegedly fought with Chosen — as claiming that while a wounded Russian soldier was asking for medical assistance, one member of the mercenary group shot the soldier in the torso, while the other in his head.2
  • Grosse also claimed that a Greek Chosen soldier threw a grenade at two Russian soldiers — one was injured, while the other attempted to surrender with his hands up. The Times has reviewed and corroborated the helmet camera footage of the incident.3
  • Ukraine's military released a video of the grenade killing but edited out the footage of the apparent attempted surrender. Meanwhile, the Times also viewed text messages of Chosen Company members appearing to admit to the prisoner of war (POW) killings, with one declaring, 'I ordered it.'2
  • Grosse said he 'specifically' told his fellow Chosen soldiers not to shoot the POWs and that they were to be taken care of by him. However, he claims that when he brought his concerns to O'Leary, the commander said that his 'brothers' hadn't committed any war crimes.3
  • Russia has said that its law enforcement agencies will verify and analyze data cited by the Times as well as investigate alleged war crime incidents committed by US-led mercenaries against Russian prisoners of war.4

Sources: 1Almayadeen, 2New York Times, 3PressTV and 4RT.

Narratives

  • Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by Archive. While it's kind of the New York Times to report on these killings now, Western newspapers have knowingly omitted such allegations of war crimes throughout the war. There are currently thousands of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine, most of whom are Canadian, British, and American, but rarely does the Western media admit that its own people are across the world killing Russians in cold blood.
  • Pro-Ukraine narrative, as provided by Independent. For Russia to accuse pro-Ukraine fighters of war crimes is astounding, given Moscow's ongoing missile strikes with high civilian casualties. Deliberately bombing civilian populations is an individual war crime at best and genocidal at worst. It seems Moscow wants not only to deny its own crimes against humanity but to throw baseless accusations at Ukraine to save face.

Predictions