Ukraine school siege: Will country’s biggest war crimes trial bring justice for Yahidne survivors?
Surrounded by forest, the village of Yahidne in northern Ukraine looks deceptively peaceful.
On a bright, summer’s day, a troupe of singers dressed in national costume perform in the ruins of a bombed-out, community club. Their voices lilt and lift, as their bodies sway. The audience clap, smile and tap their feet.
On the surface, there are little signs of the shared trauma they’ve suffered. But look closer at this joyful scene, and several spectators are weeping. Others hold their heads in their hands.
Kyiv under attack – latest updates on Ukraine war
The memory of “28 days of horror” – when Russian soldiers trapped almost the entire population in a school basement – is still raw.
In the middle of their performance, the singers fall silent, their heads bowed to honour those who lost their lives when the Russians took over the village.
“We went in as children and came out as adults. Your values change when you can’t eat, sleep or go for a shower,” says 16-year-old Marina, one of the singers. “It’s hard to forget and hard to remember.”
Back in late February 2022, in the violent first month of war, almost the entire village – with a population of around 400 before the Russian invasion – was held captive below ground in dark, freezing temperatures with little electricity.
They were starved of food and water, tormented and tortured by their kidnappers. Ten of them died in captivity, while others spoke of enduring humiliating and brutal conditions where disease and fear ran rampant.
Now more than a year after their ordeal, these villagers are about to be the star witnesses in Ukraine‘s biggest war crimes trial to date which will see 15 Russian soldiers go on trial. Prosecutors believe the case is so strong it could end up in the International Criminal Court.
Sky News has been given access to a mass of evidence gathered over more than a year of investigations. Our team has also interviewed more than a dozen survivors and seen the 3D scanners that are being used to recreate the crime scene in forensic detail.
A list of names of villagers killed by the Russians
During that time, 368 of the villagers including 69 children were kept in appalling, cramped conditions. The 10 who died during their confinement were mainly elderly people who deteriorated due to the unhygienic conditions and lack of sustenance.
Corpses lay among the living for hours, sometimes days, until the Russians could be persuaded to bury them.
‘They deliberately starved us’
Valentyna Lohrynchuk was among those held captive. “How can I describe something like that?,” she says, with horror in her voice. “One minute we’d be talking to a granny and then next, we’d realise they were dead. They deliberately starved us. They had food but they didn’t give us any.”
Even then when a group of seven was allowed to go to the village cemetery to dig graves for those who had died, within minutes they were shelled from Russian positions.
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Ukraine war: Inside hostage scene
The village priest, Dimetry Yarema, who was conducting the burial prayers, says: “It was definitely the Russians who shelled us. I feel it was a deliberate tactic to try to kill us or scare us.”
The Ukrainian lawyers will attempt to prove the Russian soldiers violated a string of international laws centring on the treatment of civilians during war time. These include setting up their military base inside a protected building and using the villagers as human shields to stave off attacks by the Ukrainian military who were fighting to reclaim Yahidne.
The 34-year-old prosecutor who has been working non-stop on this case for more than a year is optimistic about the outcome. Serhil Krupko unlocks the safe in his office and shows us some of the vital evidence.
War crimes cases, he explains, rest on multiple factors. “It is necessary to have physical evidence which can prove the individuals were there. As well as witnesses who can identify them.”
The documents Krupo and his team have collected include army files with photographs of the soldiers and all their personal details. He says Ukrainian journalists, who are part of a group called the Reckoning Project, helped gather a stash of evidence.
Some of the journalists tracked down Russian sim cards, traced them to Russia and even interviewed some of the soldiers involved who’d returned there.
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Ukrainian prosecutor, Serhil Krupko, shows Sky News’s Alex Crawford some of the evidence in this case
On top of that, the prosecutors have more than 300 survivors who were also witnesses to the crimes and have been able to identify the Russian soldiers involved, as well as give detailed accounts about what they did and how they behaved.
Villagers unable to stretch or move for 16 hours
In the windowless basement, villagers were kept confined to separate cell-like rooms, which were all so overcrowded that there was no space to lay down. Many spoke about regularly spending 16 hours straight in a single position, unable to stretch or move.
There was limited access to urinate or defecate and they were given buckets to use in the corner of some of the rooms. School teacher, Valentyna Danilova, says she believes it was a deliberate tactic to break them: “They didn’t want us to feel human,” she says. “We had no hygiene – we couldn’t even wash our hands the first 10 days.”
Many of the elderly people were terrified to drink very much, she adds, because they feared going to the toilet with little privacy or worse, being forced to urinate where they sat.
‘No War’ painted on the wall by children
The walls of the basement still have some paintings drawn by the children and maybe some of the adults. We find the words of the Ukrainian anthem as well as hearts coloured in red and the words “no war” inscribed above in big letters.
Perhaps the most poignant image though is of a line of stick figures, stark in the simplicity of the drawing but with some of the figures clearly shooting those next to them in the head.
Occasionally, the soldiers opened the basement door to let them out to go to the toilet behind the main school building but every time they ventured out from the basement, they risked being shelled in the battle over the village.
The Russians told them they had already taken Kyiv and that President Zelenskyy had fled. They even presented their captives with a Russian newspaper detailing this ‘news’ of the Ukrainian collapse.
Ivan, the school caretaker, shows the calendar that was marked on the wall
‘None of us expected to leave alive’
The teacher, Valantyna, managed to smuggle a bit of charred wood into the basement and started a calendar where she chalked off the days and kept a note of the dead – those who were killed as the Russian troops entered the village and another list of those who died while being held in the underground school rooms.
With so little light, they struggled to differentiate between day or night.
“None of us expected to leave alive,” Valantyna says, “and there was an understanding among us that one day our children would come and find this place and at least they should know who was here and what happened.”
She describes how some of the guards seemed to enjoy tormenting their prisoners. It was freezing cold in the basement, so she asked to collect a blanket for her elderly mother.
“They agreed but the moment I got outside, the soldiers started shooting at my feet. I stumbled and they laughed. It was funny to them.”
Mykhailo Shevchenko’s son was killed
Several villagers were killed before making it into the basement. Mykhailo Shevchenko said his son Viktor was one of the first killed as the Russian troops entered Yahidne.
His death will be investigated too after post-mortems appeared to show he was tied up and tortured before being shot in the head. His body then lay in the garden of his home for more than two weeks.
“Seventeen days he was lying there barefoot and his hands were tied behind his back,” says Mykhailo.
The villagers’ hopes have been raised by the guilty verdicts handed out to soldiers involved in terrorising local resident Nadiia Radchenko’s family.
Nadiia Radchenko in front of her husband’s grave
Her husband was killed, her house looted and guns put to their heads. Ukrainian lawmakers sentenced three Russian soldiers to 12 years in prison in absentia.
“It’s good to get a verdict,” Nadiia says, “but not good they’re still walking free because everyone needs to be held accountable and if you deliberately came to attack us, you need to be punished.”
Serhil Krupko, the Ukrainian prosecutor, emphasised to us how important he thinks this case is. “We believe his case will show how the Russians were using ordinary civilians as human shields,” he says. “And our international criminal court partners were very interested in this.”
World
Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes ‘Putin is afraid’ that Donald Trump could still supply Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not ruled out the possibility that he can secure long-range Tomahawk missiles from the US, adding that he believes “Putin is afraid” of the consequences.
In an exclusive interview with NBC News’s Meet the Press, Ukraine’s president discussed some of the details of his two-hour meeting with Donald Trump on Friday, including his desire for the weapons after three years of war with Russia.
“It’s good that President Trump didn’t say ‘no’, but for today, didn’t say ‘yes’,” he said about the supply of the missiles, as part of a discussion which will air on Sunday.
Ukraine war latest: Zelenskyy proposes ‘drone for Tomahawk’
He admitted the US president was concerned about a potential escalation with Russia, but Mr Zelenskyy told NBC, Sky News’s US partner, that the weapons are a genuine concern for Vladimir Putin.
“I think that Putin [is] afraid that United States will deliver us Tomahawks. And I think that he [is] really afraid that we will use them,” he said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy still hopes the US will supply Tomahawks. Pic: Meet the Press/NBC News
The weapons have a significantly longer range than any other missiles in Ukraine’s armoury and have the potential to be a game-changer in the war against Russia.
While Mr Trump did not rule out providing the Tomahawk missiles, he appeared cool to the prospect as he looked ahead to a meeting with the Russian president in Hungary in the coming weeks.
‘US doesn’t want escalation’
Following the meeting with Mr Trump, who held a phone call with Mr Putin on Thursday, Mr Zelenskyy told reporters: “We spoke about long-range (missiles) of course. And I do not want to make statements about it.”
But he added: “We don’t speak about it because… United States doesn’t want this escalation”.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plans to secure new missiles had worried Russia. Pic: Reuters
Later in a post on X, Mr Zelenskyy said he was counting on President Trump to “bring this war closer to an end”.
“We discussed all key issues – our positions on the battlefield, long-range capabilities and air defence, and, of course, diplomatic prospects,” he said.
“Russia must end the aggression it started and continues to deliberately prolong. We count on the United States’ pressure.”
In a roundtable with journalists following the meeting, Mr Trump confirmed that hitting targets deep inside Russian territory would be an “escalation”.
Donald Trump said hitting targets deep inside Russian territory would be an ‘escalation’. Pic: Reuters
He also said he was hesitant to tap into the US’ supply of Tomahawks, saying: “I have an obligation also to make sure that we’re completely stocked up as a country, because you never know what’s going to happen in war and peace.
“We’d much rather have them not need Tomahawks. We’d much rather have the war be over to be honest.”
At Mr Trump and Mr Putin’s last meeting in Alaska in August, there were hopes that the conflict may finally be coming to an end.
But the US president was unable to pressure the Russian leader into accepting a ceasefire or a one-on-one meeting with Mr Zelenskyy.
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Following Friday’s meeting at the White House, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer confirmed he had called Mr Zelenskyy to reiterate his support.
Ukraine has UK’s ‘resolute support’
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The prime minister spoke to the president of Ukraine, European leaders and the NATO secretary general this evening following President Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House today.
“The leaders reiterated their unwavering commitment to Ukraine in the face of ongoing Russian aggression. A just and lasting peace for Ukraine was the only way to stop the killing for good, they agreed.
“Further discussions about how they could support Ukraine in the lead up to, and following, a ceasefire would continue this week, including in a Coalition of the Willing call on Friday, the leaders agreed.
“Following the call with world leaders this evening, the prime minister then spoke to President Zelenskyy bilaterally to underscore the United Kingdom’s resolute support for Ukraine.”
Before Donald Trump met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he hosted one of his favourite singers, Andrea Bocelli, in the Oval Office.
The Italian tenor serenaded him with the signature track Time To Say Goodbye, a song about hope and new beginnings.
But the next event on his agenda suggested antipathy between Trump and the Ukrainian president are firmly lodged in the past.
On the key issue of whether Vladimir Putin actually wants peace, the pair continue to fundamentally disagree.
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What happened at the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting?
Trump repeated several times his belief that Putin is committed to ending the war, which may come as a surprise to the people of eastern Ukraine, being pummeled by an expanded Russian offensive in the past few months.
Trump also spoke about “bad blood on both sides”, again inferring equal blame on Zelenskyy, whose sovereign nation was invaded, and Putin, who is doing the invading.
It’s in Putin’s gift to stop the fighting immediately, but that was glossed over.
Zelenskyy, clearly contorted by a need to put the record straight but not anger the famously mercurial man on the other side of the table, fired back that it is the Ukrainians who are committed to a ceasefire, a trilateral meeting and ultimately, an end to this war.
Ukraine war: Zelenskyy proposes ‘drone for Tomahawk’ deal
Relations between Zelenskyy and Trump have, obviously, improved from February when the Ukrainian president was berated and left the White House early.
On that occasion, he was mocked for wearing a T-shirt and so, the next two visits, he has sported an all black suit. He has also learned that Trump responds to flattery and, accordingly, he peppered the president with compliments.
Zelenskyy, pictured following his meeting with Trump, has learned that the president responds to flattery. Pic: AP
He credited him with “managing the ceasefire in the Middle East”, and said he believes he has a “chance” to do the same in Ukraine.
Trump came into the meeting buoyed by the diplomatic success of the past fortnight in the Middle East, intoxicated by the praise he has received from all sides for brokering the hostage deal. But the war, he said he could solve in 24 hours, is proving a tougher nut to crack, and he’s growing frustrated with everyone involved.
That much could be gleaned from his Truth Social post after the meeting, which implored Putin and Zelenskyy to end the war along its current lines. “Let both claim Victory, let History decide!” he wrote.
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It was a marked shift from less than a month ago, when Trump, at that point more angered by Putin, suggested Ukraine could potentially win back all its territory.
As recently as Sunday, he was threatening to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine but he made clear after their meeting that he wouldn’t be doing that right now. It’s likely he will wait until at least after his trailed meeting with Putin in Budapest.
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I was in Alaska in August when Trump hosted Putin and laid out the literal and metaphorical red carpet for him.
The US president went in with two aims: to broker a ceasefire and a one-on-one meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy. He left with neither and there is no public sign that Putin has shifted from his maximalist aims in Ukraine.
Trump greets Putin on the red carpet in Alaska in August. Pic: AP
Even by Trump’s own measurement, the summit was a failure.
Yet he seems determined to take the Russian president at his word, granting him first a phone call ahead of the Zelenskyy visit to Washington DC and now another meeting.
Putin was first successful in getting Trump to hold off on more severe sanctions on Russia, which were crippling economically. Now he has, seemingly, played a role in persuading Trump to hold off on sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.
The US president was asked by a journalist whether it was possible he was being played by Putin. He admitted it was possible but said he usually comes out of these things pretty well. Time will tell.
It’s the dead of night, and a convoy is driving along a road in Gaza’s far north, 1.4km inside the Israeli area of control.
Few people remain in this part of Gaza, near the Erez border crossing.
Almost all buildings here have been destroyed, and official data says that no aid has come through the crossing since February. These vehicles, however, are loaded with supplies.
They stop briefly as a child and two men disembark to collect water bottles and plastic jerrycans that had fallen off one of the overburdened pickup trucks.
The convoy moves south, past destroyed buildings and debris, ending at an abandoned school.
This is the headquarters of the militia led by Ashraf Al Mansi, which calls itself the People’s Army.
Earlier this week, Al Mansi released a video statement warning Hamas against approaching the areas under his control.
The armed group is one of four active anti-Hamas militias identified by Sky News – all of them based inside parts of Gaza still controlled by Israel.
Hamas has sought to reassert its authority in recent days by clamping down on such groups. Sky News has verified footage of gun battles and public executions on the streets of Gaza City.
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Sky’s Dominic Waghorn reports on violence between Palestinians.
Last week, a Sky News investigation revealed that Israel has been facilitating the supply of guns, vehicles, cash and food to the most influential of these militias, Yasser Abu Shabab’s Popular Forces, based in Gaza’s far south.
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A Sky News investigation has uncovered new details about Israel’s support for a Palestinian rebel group.
The new footage viewed by Sky News suggests a similar arrangement has been set up in Gaza’s far north to supply Al Mansi’s militia.
The IDF and Al Mansi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Why are the videos important?
Two videos, uploaded by a member of Al Mansi’s militia on 9 and 11 October, show convoys taking an identical route down to the militia’s headquarters.
Neither video shows the supplies being loaded onto the trucks, but both videos begin at a point less than 400 metres from an IDF outpost.
Pic: Planet Labs PBC
To the north of this point, the road branches off in two. The western branch leads to the IDF outpost, while the eastern branch leads to the Erez border crossing.
It’s not possible to determine exactly what is being transported, but we can see food, water bottles and a large amount of fuel.
Water, food and fuel are visible on board the trucks.
At one point in one of the videos, the back of a car is shown filled with plastic jerrycans. These are marked with the branding of SOS Energy, an Israeli fuel supplier.
Hamas is cracking down on the militias
The new evidence of Israeli backing for Gaza’s militias comes as Hamas is attempting to reassert its authority through a violent crackdown on suspected collaborators.
On Thursday, Israeli news website Mako reported that Hamas had managed to take control of at least 45 pickup trucks, cash and hundreds of weapons from militias backed by Israel, citing IDF sources.
The crackdown has included a multi-day assault on Gaza City’s Al Sabra neighbourhood, home to the Doghmosh clan – an influential extended family with a long history of tensions with Hamas.
Clan members told Sky News that Hamas’s attack, which began as an attempt to arrest members of an anti-Hamas militia, had morphed into an indiscriminate campaign of revenge against the family as a whole.
“Hamas has not targeted any family,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Sky News.
“The occupation has formed armed militias loyal to it, and these militias are accused of high treason – the most severe charge in Palestinian revolutionary law.”
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasam told Sky News that Gaza’s government was attempting to restore order.
The head of Gaza’s Supreme Council for Tribal Affairs Hosni Al Mughanni tells Sky News that Yasser Abu Shabab “deserves the harshest punishment for his crimes” and that he “threw himself into the enemy’s arms”.
Hosni Al Mughanni, head of Gaza’s Supreme Council for Tribal Affairs, spoke to Sky News in Gaza.
“These rogue groups terrified us more than the enemy at times, violating people’s sanctities and property, stripping them of cash, phones, even watches, and shooting legs,” he says.
We asked Al Mughanni about the summary executions that have taken place in recent days in Gaza City.
“With no functioning courts, prosecution, or police stations, all of which are destroyed, how can formal justice proceed?
“We are for restoring security, security is the basis of life.”
Additional reporting by Celine Alkhaldi, Middle East producer.
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
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