“Later, we all stopped and saw that a car was missing. Maxim’s car. In that car were Maxim, his wife, their son and my mom. “From what [my mum] he told me, Maxim was coming back. Maxim got out of the car, raised his hands and started shouting that there were children in the car. “And they shot him.” Iovenko’s son and his friend’s mother are believed to have escaped with their lives. According to the Ukrainian drone pilot, a woman and a small child were later led by soldiers to a ditch near the spot. Moments after Iovenko was shot, Russian troops appeared to be dragging his body into a nearby forest.
Russia denies war crimes
Sergiy Iovenko, his father, said he still had “a little hope” until he saw the video and could not believe it until he touched his son’s body. The pilot of the drone said that the silver hatchback burned after the attack. Deliberate targeting of civilians is considered a war crime under international humanitarian law, although Russia has systematically denied any involvement in the attacks.
