Russian commanders appoint 'execution shooters' to target soldiers who refuse to fight, report claims

In several cases, officers allegedly ordered drone operators to drop grenades on their own men, disguising the killings as battlefield strikes

Russia's 'execution shooters' later dump refusers' bodies in rivers or shallow graves, registering them as killed in action. File Picture: Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP

Russian commanders are executing soldiers or deliberately sending them to their deaths if they refuse to fight in Ukraine, a report has claimed. 

Independent outlet Verstka has drawn on testimonies from serving soldiers, relatives of the dead, leaked videos, and official complaint records, and has identified 101 Russian servicemen accused of murdering, torturing, or fatally punishing their own comrades.