Confronting items found on Russian soldier highlight war crime accusation
A confronting image shared on Twitter on Tuesday has highlighted allegations against Russian troops who are being accused of stealing from Ukrainian civilians.
The image shared by a journalist from the UK Defence Journal shows several phones, watches and passports as well as cash, jewellery and other valuable items, with claims it was all found on a captured Russian lieutenant, although this can't be verified.
Some Twitter users pointed out the handful of hair accessories in the photo, suggesting they most likely belonged to "little girls".
Others criticized what's being referred to as "looting" by Russian soldiers, which constitutes a war crime, and is prohibited by international law
"Looting is a war crime, is it not? To say nothing of what might have happened to the rightful owners," one person Tweeted.
"Russian way of thinking: it’s not a war crime if there’s no consequences for it," someone responded.
Claims Russian troops are 'raiding homes'
The photo emerged online amid several reports suggesting evidence of looting by Russian soldiers, including a Facebook post by the Ukrainian Defence Ministry on Saturday.
Such claims allege retreating Russian troops are raiding homes of electronics, jewellery, cars, home appliances, children’s toys and other items of value, and attempting to sell them across the border in Belarus.
The Facebook post by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry claims, "the Russian military has opened a bazaar to trade in loot" in a bid to sell "everything that the Russians have gained by looting and robbing the civilians in Ukraine."
It's been said that a market for the stolen items has popped up in the Belarusian town of Naroulia.
The defence ministry said that a Russian "column of trucks with various properties - industrial goods and household things" is currently en route from the Ukrainian city of Buryn towards the Russian border.
Meanwhile, in the Belarusian city of Mozir, Russian troops are "unloading packages with things obtained by looting" from Russian military vehicles, the ministry said.
A photo of a burnt-out vehicle, believed to be an immobilised Russian military truck on a road in Bucha, a suburb north of Kyiv, is also doing the rounds on Twitter.
It shows what many claim to be the charred remains of three washing machines.
"Photographs of one of the wrecked cars show that the Russian army, fleeing the #Kyiv region, took stolen washing machines with them," news aggregator Ukraine Alert wrote on their post alongside photo.
The same image was also shared by the defence ministry on Sunday who said "hundreds of cars with loot" have been "grabbed" in as many days.
"Not every military trophy reaches Russia. Hundreds of cars with loot from the suburbs of Kyiv – from children's toys, carpets to, as in this photo, washing machines, were grabbed in the last few days by retreating Russian troops," the tweet read.
Escaping from near #Kyiv, Russian troops are carrying the loot.
Ukrainian soldiers showed a wrecked armored personnel carrier in which Russian troops were carrying stolen goods: frying pans, fishing rods and children's toys. pic.twitter.com/q0OgMEKvtM— Ukraine Alert🇺🇦 (@alert_ukraine) April 1, 2022
As Russian troops retreat from the Kyiv region after having sustained immense losses, they are looting houses of ordinary people. Electronics, clothes, shoes, cosmetics. This is not an army. This is a disgrace. We will never forget and we will never forgive.
— Oleg Nikolenko (@OlegNikolenko_) March 31, 2022
Further claims were made by Ukraine's foreign affairs ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko on Thursday who said Ukrainians "will never forget" the looting "of ordinary people."
"As Russian troops retreat from the Kyiv region after having sustained immense losses, they are looting houses of ordinary people," he tweeted.
"Electronics, clothes, shoes, cosmetics. This is not an army. This is a disgrace. We will never forget and we will never forgive."
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Sending parcels of stolen goods
For Russian soldiers who've managed to cross the border into Belarus, there's "growing evidence" that suggests they're attempting to send packages of stolen goods to relatives back home, according to Newsweek.
US Congressman Adam Kinzinger retweeted a video originally shared by a Ukrainian woman purportedly showing Russian soldiers in Mazyr, Belarus sending off parcels.
The footage is reportedly taken at a collection point of SDEK, a popular delivery service that operates throughout Russia and much of the former Soviet Union.
War crime upon war crime https://t.co/IH1JGS6cUO
— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) April 2, 2022
While this can't be verified, other videos have emerged online alongside claims Russian troops continue to engage in "war crime, after war crime".
A tweet by the defence ministry on Sunday also suggested this was true.
"Mazyr, Belarus became the collection point for military trucks with the loot from Ukraine which is then sent to by express delivery service," they tweeted.
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