Russian Forces Shelled Civilians During Their Withdrawal from Kupiansk — Khartia

On the morning of October 13, Russian invaders shelled civilians in Kupiansk whom they themselves had led toward the Shebelinka–Ostroguzhsk gas pipeline.

The group included two women, a child, and several men, according to information provided to Militarnyi by the 2nd Khartia Corps of the National Guard.

Enemy mortars and artillery struck the civilians multiple times along the way. Video footage from reconnaissance drones confirms that there are casualties among the civilians.

Ukrainian troops did not return fire. Based on the nature of the explosions, corps soldiers determined that the invaders were firing from the eastern bank of the Oskil River.

This is the second such incident in the past two weeks. Specifically, on September 27, the invaders escorted nine civilians—including children and the elderly—out through the same pipeline.

At that time, men in civilian clothing were walking alongside the civilians; according to intelligence reports, they were Russian soldiers leaving the city under the cover of the civilian population.

Previously, Russian troops had used this gas pipeline to infiltrate Kupiansk and deploy assault teams.

The Ukrainian military warns that in the near future, Russian media may use footage from the site of the shelling to accuse the Ukrainian Defense Forces of attacking refugees. The Russians already spread a similar disinformation narrative in early October.

Ukrainian units have fully documented both incidents. The collected evidence will be handed over to law enforcement agencies to investigate these latest war crimes.

According to Article 51 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions and the provisions of the Rome Statute, deliberate attacks on the civilian population are strictly prohibited and constitute a war crime.

The use of civilians as human shields to protect military personnel directly violates Article 28 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Furthermore, the forced displacement of people by the invading power constitutes a violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. It should be recalled that the International Criminal Court has already issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin in connection with similar cases of the illegal removal of Ukrainian children.