A Russian army unit's macabre contest to pose with executed Ukrainian prisoners of war

"A Russian soldier, with his face blurred, poses in front of the bodies of three Ukrainian soldiers lying face down in a pool of blood, their hands clasped behind their heads. The image, shared by the Russian Rusich unit on its Telegram channel, is accompanied by an announcement for a contest: The first three people to submit a photo of prisoners who have clearly been erased from existence will receive a cryptocurrency reward."

"Take a lesson from the enemy: this is what a victorious army looks like, not a gang, said the pro-Ukrainian military officer, nicknamed Slavian, while urging his men to imitate their enemies. In his subsequent post, the Russian Volunteer Corps member shared images sent to him by other Ukrainian soldiers, showing them posing with the bodies of dead Russian combatants. In a video, a soldier shot a deceased Russian in the head in the middle of a forest, next to the caption: Long live death."

"According to the Russian Volunteer Corps, speaking to the independent news channel Sota, their official stance is not to touch prisoners, and the challenge issued by Slavian only involves taking photos with dead soldiers. This claim has not been verified. Slavian's words were paraphrased by Rusich days later. Take note. This is how you photograph a victorious army, not a losing one, the unit retorted last weekend, while announcing its competition."

A Russian ultranationalist unit posted a photograph of three Ukrainian soldiers killed and announced a contest rewarding photos of prisoners 'erased from existence' with cryptocurrency prizes. The image circulated on Telegram and ultranationalist channels before a fighter from the Russian Volunteer Corps, a unit supporting Ukraine, reshared it and called for revenge. Pro-Ukrainian figures then shared images of dead Russian combatants and a video showing a soldier shooting a corpse, captioned 'Long live death.' The Russian Volunteer Corps stated to Sota that its official stance prohibits touching prisoners and that the challenge only involves photographing dead soldiers. Rusich later paraphrased Slavian and promoted the competition.

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