Russian troops shoot family, use underage daughter as human shield in eastern Ukraine, military says
Editor's note: The article contains graphic footage.
Russian forces took an underage girl hostage to use her as a human shield after murdering her parents in a front-line village in eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian 3rd Army Corps reported on Sept. 24.
The civilians were killed in the area of responsibility of the 3rd Army Corps, in the village of Shandryholove in Donetsk Oblast.
Ukrainian authorities have documented a number of cases of Russian troops murdering civilians in front-line areas since the outbreak of the full-scale war in 2022, part of a wider pattern of abuse and repression.
"Russia is using (the captured girl) as a human shield for its unit advancing in the Lyman sector," the military unit said.
Even before the assault on the settlement, a Russian commander with the callsign "Bali" reportedly ordered his troops to "kill everyone indiscriminately," including the civilian population, "except for the children."
A video released by the 3rd Corps shows aerial footage of Russian troops taking the girl hostage, and includes intercepted audio of the Russian commander's orders.
A Russian unit broke into a house and killed the girl's parents before abducting her. She was then held hostage to prevent Ukrainian troops from opening fire during the ongoing battle, according to the military.
"All radio intercepts confirm that Russian actions were premeditated," the statement read.
Murdering civilians and using them as human shields constitutes a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.
Russia has been accused of widespread abuse, torture, and summary executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and civilians during the full-scale invasion.
Children have also been among the victims of Russian aggression. The U.N. documented over 2,000 children killed during the full-scale war, though the real figure is likely much higher, as Moscow does not allow independent monitoring of some of the most war-stricken areas.
One in every five children in Ukraine also reported losing a relative or a friend since the start of the full-scale war, UNICEF, the U.N.'s children's rights agency, said in February.
