Russian forces use group of civilians as 'human shields' near Kupiansk, fire at them afterwards, Ukraine's military says

Russian forces led a group of civilians toward a gas pipeline, using them as human shields, and afterwards opened fire at them near the front-line city of Kupiansk in Ukraine's Kharkiv Oblast on Oct. 13, the Ukrainian military said, providing alleged drone footage of the incident.

The group included two women, a child, and several men who were being led toward the Shebelinka–Ostrogozhsk gas pipeline, according to Ukraine's 13th Khartia Corps. The group came under repeated mortar and artillery fire as it moved.

Drone footage recorded by Ukrainian reconnaissance units showed casualties among the civilians, Khartia said, adding that Ukrainian troops had not opened fire. Based on the impact patterns, the strike originated from the eastern bank of the Oskil River, where Russian forces are positioned, the corps said.

Khartia called the strike a "deliberate provocation" and warned that Russian media could use footage from the incident to falsely accuse Ukraine of attacking civilians. The corps said it would hand over the materials for a war crimes investigation.

"Civilians are used as human shields by the Russians, and then become their target for disinformation campaigns," Khartia wrote.

Ukraine's Joint Forces grouping separately said on Oct. 13 that Russian forces had struck a column of civilians leaving Kupiansk during what it described as a forced evacuation. The military said it was still establishing the number of casualties.

According to the Joint Forces grouping, Russian troops had conducted similar operations in recent weeks, using civilians as human shields to cover the withdrawal of some of their soldiers.

The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claim.

Throughout the full-scale war, the Russian military has regularly breached international warfare conventions, including through indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas and the abduction of civilians from occupied territories.

On Sept. 29, Khartiia Corps said Russian troops use civilians, including children and elderly people, as human shields to flee via a gas pipeline in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast amid the Ukrainian push in the Kupiansk sector.

Khartiia Corps said the group of civilians would have to walk more than 10 kilometers (about six miles) through the pipeline before exiting into a forest, where they would likely be transported to Russian-occupied territory.