Moscow condemns US reaction to execution of Russian POWs

The Russian embassy in Washington has said that the US is enabling Ukrainian “neo-Nazis” to act with impunity by downplaying evidence of their atrocities, adding that US officials risk blowback from the policy, it warned.

The statement released on Monday came in response to comments made by Beth Van Schaack, the US ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice, about videos of executed Russian soldiers captured by Ukrainian troops.

A clip apparently shows the Russians surrendering and lying down on the ground. Another shows what looks like a Russian soldier appearing at the scene and discharging his firearm. The final clip is of Russian troops lying on the ground in pools of blood, apparently dead from gunshots to the head.

Ukraine claims that the videos show a false surrender by the Russians, with the intention of taking their captors by surprise. Van Schaack seemed to downplay the incident, stating that “when we’re looking at the sheer scale of criminality exhibited by Russian forces, it’s enormous compared to the allegations that we have seen against Ukrainian forces.”

The US official “failed to provide any evidence of violent acts allegedly committed by our servicemen” the Russian embassy said. Her remarks fit with Washington’s general “callous attitude” toward the deaths of Russian troops and exemplified American “double standards at their finest,” it noted.

“Isn’t it clear that the United States enables permissiveness and impunity for neo-Nazis in Ukraine by covering up the frenzy of Ukrainian bandits?” the Russian diplomatic mission asked. “By condoning the crimes of the Kiev regime and ignoring them, Washington supports murderers… One must always remember: ‘For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind’.”

Moscow sounded the alarm about the footage circulating on social media on Friday. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that murdering POWs was a “widespread practice” for Kiev’s forces.