Overview
- Four former Russian servicemen in a new BBC documentary say commanders ordered or carried out summary executions of their own troops for refusing orders or fleeing, a practice they call 'zeroing'.
- Dima, a former paramedic, recounts seeing 20 executed men in a pit and alleges the orders came from commander Alexei Ksenofontov, who received the 2024 Hero of Russia award, with families previously seeking an investigation.
- Ilya says he witnessed a commander shoot four men at point-blank range in Russian‑occupied Donetsk and provided a list showing he is the sole survivor of 79 men mobilised with him.
- The men describe routine torture and humiliation of refuseniks—including electrocution, starvation, being tied to trees and urinated on—echoed by videos circulating on Telegram that show similar abuse.
- Testimonies detail repeated 'meat storm' assaults that sent waves of troops into near‑suicidal attacks; one account cites 200 deaths in three days, as the UK Ministry of Defence estimates 1.2 million Russian casualties since 2022 and Russia says it cannot verify the claims.