12 ms·

"Likewise, prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity." --

"Likewise, prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity." -- Article 13 of the Geneva Convention

sterlind 5y ago
Maybe I'm just naive, but I don't see this as intentionally insulting or a public spectacle. I think it really is to help Russian families identify whether their children have been captured or killed while serving. I don't think Russian soldiers want to kill Ukrainians. I don't think Ukrainians want to kill Russians. I think regular people from both countries have been forced into the awful situation of shooting each other, and they're navigating the human toll. Seeing this site really made the war hit home for me.
- Moru 5y ago
  And it's horrible for the morale of the russian soldiers if their mothers starts calling them and yelling at them for killing their brothers...
- A4ET8a8uTh0 5y ago
  It can serve multiple purposes and all of these could be true. I will add one more: -propaganda value for local, international and regular Russians cannot be overstated here
aaron695 5y ago
Yes, this site is a clear cut war crime. Ok, it's low on the war crime scale, but you are in or out on the Geneva Convention.
- pjmlp 5y ago
  Only naive people can believe in clean wars and soldiers on the field actually following the convention all times. Talking on the internet is easy.
- rosndo 5y ago
  It really isn’t, this is not degrading treatment. These people aren’t being paraded around the streets. This is a genuinely useful resource for them and their families, a means for parents of Russian soldiers to be able to get on phone with their kids.
  - chmod775 5y ago
    >These people aren’t being paraded around the streets. Sure. They're just being uploaded to YouTube with comments enabled. 4chan's /pol/ already found the Facebook profiles of some of these POWs and are messaging their friends and relatives for fun. I'd rather be paraded down a street.
    - rosndo 5y ago
      That’s simply inevitable in modern wars where everybody carries a camera.
      - chmod775 5y ago
        Publishing their full names is quite evitable.
        rosndo 5y ago
        Publishing their full names is the right and human thing to do. Russian government is not keeping their families informed.
        chmod775 5y ago
        You can just give them a call, you know. In fact some of them are made to call their family in some of the videos circulating. The right and human thing to do is following the Geneva Convention. You'll have to make a pretty amazing case if you want to argue it should be disregarded in this case. It should be obvious there's better ways to inform families of these POWs, not just because a less public/propaganda way is more respectful, but also because a more direct route is more likely to reach them. But that's obviously not the point. This is pretty standard as propaganda goes and fits neatly with the other narratives that are spun. That can be understood and accepted, but it definitely shouldn't be celebrated.
axiosgunnar 5y ago
Guys, this is literally a pro-Russian propaganda troll with an account created less than an hour ago with random letters as its name. Dang?
- muzani 5y ago
  From the guidelines: "Please don't post insinuations about astroturfing, shilling, bots, brigading, foreign agents and the like. It degrades discussion and is usually mistaken. If you're worried about abuse, email hn@ycombinator.com and we'll look at the data."
- smorgusofborg 5y ago
  s/pro-Russian/pro-Putin? IMO pro Russian trolls are very cool but usually get imprisoned by Putin.
  - axiosgunnar 5y ago
    Yes, you're right
- Arnt 5y ago
  Not so random. Note the last paragraph in particular. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_200_(code_name) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_200_(code_name)
hdjjhhvvhga 5y ago
But how will their families know what happened to their sons, fathers etc.? The Russians are censoring everything heavily.
spacemanmatt 5y ago
Care to quote the Geneva Convention on the topic of waging unjust wars of aggression on one's neighbors? Don't pretend like morality is black and white.

"Likewise, prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity." -- Article 13 of the Geneva Convention

sterlind 5y ago

Maybe I'm just naive, but I don't see this as intentionally insulting or a public spectacle. I think it really is to help Russian families identify whether their children have been captured or killed while serving. I don't think Russian soldiers want to kill Ukrainians. I don't think Ukrainians want to kill Russians. I think regular people from both countries have been forced into the awful situation of shooting each other, and they're navigating the human toll. Seeing this site really made the war hit home for me.

Moru 5y ago
And it's horrible for the morale of the russian soldiers if their mothers starts calling them and yelling at them for killing their brothers...
A4ET8a8uTh0 5y ago
It can serve multiple purposes and all of these could be true. I will add one more: -propaganda value for local, international and regular Russians cannot be overstated here

aaron695 5y ago

Yes, this site is a clear cut war crime. Ok, it's low on the war crime scale, but you are in or out on the Geneva Convention.

pjmlp 5y ago
Only naive people can believe in clean wars and soldiers on the field actually following the convention all times. Talking on the internet is easy.
rosndo 5y ago
It really isn’t, this is not degrading treatment. These people aren’t being paraded around the streets. This is a genuinely useful resource for them and their families, a means for parents of Russian soldiers to be able to get on phone with their kids.
- chmod775 5y ago
  >These people aren’t being paraded around the streets. Sure. They're just being uploaded to YouTube with comments enabled. 4chan's /pol/ already found the Facebook profiles of some of these POWs and are messaging their friends and relatives for fun. I'd rather be paraded down a street.
  - rosndo 5y ago
    That’s simply inevitable in modern wars where everybody carries a camera.
    - chmod775 5y ago
      Publishing their full names is quite evitable.
      - rosndo 5y ago
        Publishing their full names is the right and human thing to do. Russian government is not keeping their families informed.
        chmod775 5y ago
        You can just give them a call, you know. In fact some of them are made to call their family in some of the videos circulating. The right and human thing to do is following the Geneva Convention. You'll have to make a pretty amazing case if you want to argue it should be disregarded in this case. It should be obvious there's better ways to inform families of these POWs, not just because a less public/propaganda way is more respectful, but also because a more direct route is more likely to reach them. But that's obviously not the point. This is pretty standard as propaganda goes and fits neatly with the other narratives that are spun. That can be understood and accepted, but it definitely shouldn't be celebrated.

axiosgunnar 5y ago

Guys, this is literally a pro-Russian propaganda troll with an account created less than an hour ago with random letters as its name. Dang?

muzani 5y ago
From the guidelines: "Please don't post insinuations about astroturfing, shilling, bots, brigading, foreign agents and the like. It degrades discussion and is usually mistaken. If you're worried about abuse, email hn@ycombinator.com and we'll look at the data."
smorgusofborg 5y ago
s/pro-Russian/pro-Putin? IMO pro Russian trolls are very cool but usually get imprisoned by Putin.
- axiosgunnar 5y ago
  Yes, you're right
Arnt 5y ago
Not so random. Note the last paragraph in particular. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_200_(code_name) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_200_(code_name)

hdjjhhvvhga 5y ago

But how will their families know what happened to their sons, fathers etc.? The Russians are censoring everything heavily.

spacemanmatt 5y ago

Care to quote the Geneva Convention on the topic of waging unjust wars of aggression on one's neighbors? Don't pretend like morality is black and white.