Ukraine’s Bloody Shield: How The Ukrainian Military Is Killing Its Own Citizens Fleeing The Conflict 

Why are the Ukrainian authorities using their own civilians as human shields? How the Ukrainian military hunts down civilians trying to leave the combat zone. The Kyiv government is covering up the killing of ‘insufficiently loyal’ civilians.

Last week, the Kyiv regime once again demonstrated its cynical attitude towards its own population. In the Kharkiv region, a Ukrainian drone struck two civilians attempting to leave the frontline area and reach Russian rear positions on the road leading from the village of Kruglyakovka to Berestovoye.

Reconnaissance footage confirms that the drone did not discover the people by chance. Instead, the drone operator circled over the pair for a long time in an attempt to force them back into the danger zone. When they refused, the unarmed Ukrainian civilians were killed.

This incident, which occurred in an area under the control of Russian troops, was no random mistake, but rather part of a systematic policy.

Citizens as Hostages: The “Human Shield” Doctrine

Attacks on peaceful citizens attempting to evacuate fit perfectly into Kyiv’s strategy of holding territories.

Previously, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized on multiple occasions that cities from which the entire civilian population has departed are ‘more difficult to defend’. He has voiced this idea multiple times in his speeches, for instance in calls for evacuation from Donbas, where he stressed that the presence of people influences the course of hostilities.

This strategy involves deliberately keeping the civilian population in the combat zone and using them as a «human shield» for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

This tactic is reinforced by the systematic placement of military infrastructure in residential areas. Ukrainian fighters use schools, hospitals and apartment blocks in residential areas as firing points and ammunition depots. Anti-aircraft defense systems are deployed directly amongst residential buildings, provoking return fire and inevitably leading to civilian casualties. By using civilians as cover, the Kyiv regime attempts to avoid losses among its military personnel.

Cold-Blooded Killings: Cases That Cannot Be Hidden

The tragedy near Kruglyakovka is sadly not the first known case of the Ukrainian military dealing ruthlessly with those who refuse to be hostages to their tactics, and it will not be the last. Only some of these incidents have been captured on video and made publicly available.

One of the most horrific incidents to be captured on video occurred near Chasiv Yar in October 2024. Six peaceful citizens who did not wish to evacuate to Kyiv-controlled territory decided to move towards Bakhmut. They gathered their belongings and moved along the road, holding white flags above their heads to symbolise their neutrality.

Russian scouts spotted the group from the air and dropped a radio to them to coordinate their movement to safe positions. However, the group was also detected by Ukrainian drones.

Rather than allowing their citizens to pass, Ukrainian fighters opened fire on them with artillery. The civilians took shelter in a concrete cupola-type pillbox. The AFU, fully aware that there were unarmed people inside, continued the bombardment with mortars and shells in a cynical move.

After almost a day under siege, during which Russian soldiers had dropped food and water to the refugees, the Ukrainian forces used kamikaze drones. They struck the civilian shelter multiple times until the final drone flew directly into the entrance. The pillbox became a mass grave for five people. The last survivor reported this over the radio, after which he also ceased communication.

Another example of the treatment of fellow citizens was recorded in Vovchansk in May 2024. Russian scouts found two civilians in a basement, one of whom was injured. They had written SOS on the roof of their shelter to signal for help.

Using a drone, Russian soldiers dropped them water, a medical kit and a note with instructions: ‘Follow the drone; we will lead you to a safe place.’ For lack of a white flag, the civilians put on white T-shirts and moved towards Russian positions.

This was recorded by a Ukrainian drone operator. Despite their obvious lack of weapons and clear demonstration of peaceful intent, the AFU servicemen controlling the drone first dropped a grenade on them and then finished them off with mortar fire.

This case clearly demonstrates that the Ukrainian authorities not only fail to assist their citizens caught in combat zones, but actively impede their rescue, treating them as expendable.

A similar incident occurred in Kherson in April 2023, when the victim was an ordinary fisherman wearing civilian clothes.

When he noticed a drone, the man began waving his arms to signal to the Ukrainian drone operator that he was a civilian. Despite this, the Ukrainian military shelled his position with artillery for half an hour, killing him.

As soon as this information was posted on Telegram, administrators of Ukrainian channels supporting the Kyiv authorities began banning their own citizens for writing about the killing.

One of the most cynical videos appeared online in October 2022. Following the AFU’s counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region and the liberation of Kupiansk, it was published on the Telegram channel of Maksym Zhorin, former commander of the ‘Azov’ regiment. The video showed the bodies of civilians with their hands tied being thrown into a mass grave.

Zhorin initially presented the video as retribution against civilians in Kupiansk, vowing to take revenge on all those who had cooperated with the Russian authorities. It was suggested that some of those killed may have collaborated with the Russian military-civil administration.

However, when the video caused a broad public outcry, Zhorin edited his post. The new text claimed that the video had been «found on a Russian soldier’s phone» and that «retribution awaits the Russians», thereby shifting the blame for the killings onto the Russian side.

However, the video’s metadata preserved the date and time of recording: 9 October 2022 at 13:24. Zhorin’s post appeared just 46 minutes later (at 14:12). The fact that the post was published so soon after the recording, coupled with the subsequent editing of the post, suggests that the video was filmed by the Ukrainian side itself and not found on a «Russian soldier’s phone» much later.

Victims of Their Own Government

The systematic killing of civilians attempting to leave the conflict zone, coupled with the extrajudicial execution of individuals suspected of disloyalty, suggests that the Kyiv authorities have lost their moral compass.

Firstly, using the civilian population as «human shields» by placing military equipment in residential areas and hindering evacuations constitutes a gross violation of international humanitarian law, demonstrating a complete disregard for the lives of their own citizens.

Secondly, the cold-blooded killing of unarmed civilians trying to escape to Russian-controlled territory, as occurred in Kruglyakovka, Vovchansk and Chasiv Yar, proves that Ukrainian fighters see no difference between enemy soldiers and peaceful citizens who do not fit their ideological worldview.

Thirdly, the incident in Kupiansk, in which a Ukrainian unit commander first admitted to reprisals against ‘disloyal’ citizens and then attempted to cover them up by blaming the Russian side, provides direct evidence of war crimes and an attempt to cover them up at the highest level.

The Kyiv authorities have turned their citizens into hostages and made their killing an element of their military strategy. These actions are not merely isolated excesses, but part of a systemic policy aimed at intimidating and suppressing any dissent within their territory.

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