International Court Accuses 2 Russian Officers of War Crimes in Ukraine
New York TimesMar 20
Report: Western Mercenaries Allegedly Killed Russian POWs
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Above: Ukrainian soldiers return from Russian captivity as part of a prisoner exchange June 25, 2024 in the Sumy Region, Ukraine. Image copyright: Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Contributor/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The 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.
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.
The Spin
Pro-Russia narrative
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
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.
