Russian troops execute a Ukrainian POW with a sword in barbaric display
Source: Dmytro Labunets/Telegram
Gruesome footage showing a Ukrainian prisoner of war killed with a sword by Russian forces has surfaced on social media on Tuesday. The horrific medieval-style execution was condemned by Ukraine’s Ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets. He confirmed the authenticity of the shocking video, branding it another horrific war crime committed by Russia.
In the footage, the Ukrainian soldier can be seen with his hands bound by duct tape as the Russian captors drive a sword, inscribed with the words “For Kursk,” into his body.
Lubinets called the killing a blatant violation of the Geneva Convention, arguing, “The level of barbarism and bloodlust is unfathomable. How much longer will the world watch as Russia flagrantly disregards every norm and law?”
He said he had approached the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations, urging them to document this latest atrocity as yet another gross violation of human rights by Russian forces.
Intended to demoralize Ukrainians, the brutal act can only have the opposite effect as it will strengthen the nation’s resolve in its fight against the aggressor, added Labunets.
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During the GLOBSEC Defence Forum 2026 in Prague, representatives of “Steel Front”, an initiative by Rinat Akhmetov, discussed with NATO delegations, military officials, and representatives of the European defense industry the lessons learned from Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
After the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine witnessed an unprecedented wave of private support for the army. Citizens, big businesses, charitable foundations, and international philanthropists began financing the country’s defense alongside state assistance provided by international partners. Estimates of total private contributions range from tens to hundreds of billions of hryvnias. However, determining the exact amount remains difficult. In many cases, companies combine military aid, humanitarian programs, tax payments, social spending, and employee support in their reporting.
Rinat Akhmetov’s military initiative, “Steel Front”, has delivered a batch of drones worth UAH 214 million to the 1st “Azov” Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine. This shipment is part of the Metinvest Group’s ongoing support for the unit in 2025.
On October 6, the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of Ukraine continued hearing case No. 990/80/25, in which the fifth President and leader of the party “European Solidarity”, Petro Poroshenko, seeks to have Presidential Decree No. 81/2025 from February 12, 2025 — enacting sanctions by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) — declared illegal and annulled. The plaintiff claims the document was falsified and that the sanctions are a tool of political persecution of the opposition, contrary to international norms. Government representatives deny the allegations and insist their actions were lawful. Journalists of Bukvy were present at the hearing.