A Russian military commander ordered his troops to decapitate the bodies of two Ukrainian soldiers killed near Huliaipole and put them on display, Ukraine's General Staff reported on May 13.
"The enemy's cynicism and cruelty know no bounds," the General Staff wrote.
A Russian combat unit ambushed soldiers of Ukraine's 225th Separate Assault Regiment on the front lines near Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on May 12, the military said. Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed in battle.
Intelligence intercepts showed that the commander of the Russian unit issued a direct order for his subordinates to cut the heads off the bodies of the fallen soldiers and place them in a "conspicuous spot" at the edge of the field.
The unit whose soldiers took part in the acts of desecration has been preliminarily identified, according to the General Staff. The commander who issued the order is believed to have previously ordered his troops to mock Ukrainian prisoners of war.
"By desecrating the bodies of fallen soldiers, the occupiers have once again demonstrated their sadistic nature and excessive, ostentatious cruelty," the military said.
"This is a gross, deliberate violation of the rules and customs of war — a war crime with no statute of limitations."
Russia is accused of committing numerous war crimes during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including the beheading of captive Ukrainian soldiers.
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