47th Brigade ex-commander: 225th Regiment shelled retreating Ukrainian group

He stated that the incident occurred at night during active combat operations. According to him, soldiers from the 225th Separate Assault Regiment adjusted artillery fire onto a group of people moving away from Ukrainian positions.

According to Ukrainska Pravda, the events took place in Belgorod Oblast.

Shirshyn stated that he attempted to halt the artillery fire, as he was certain the personnel were Ukrainian troops rather than Russian forces.

"Aside from shouting and the continued shelling of the group, I was unable to convey or achieve anything. As dawn broke, I saw that my men and soldiers from the 225th had been killed," he stated.

Shirshyn expressed his belief that this was a targeted destruction of personnel who "fled" from the front, rather than an accidental friendly fire incident.

"I tried for a long time to figure out whether this was truly a mistake, because such things happen in war... unfortunately... but the more I analyzed and verified the information, the more convinced I became that it was a targeted destruction of 'deserters.' A month and a half after the incident, I received a recording stating: 'there are no friendly forces...'," he said.

On July 30, media outlet Texty.org.ua published an investigative report detailing physical beatings, illegal detention, and threats of weapon use against soldiers attempting unauthorized leave from positions (AWOL) within the 225th Separate Assault Regiment.

Specifically, the publication released an audio recording featuring a voice resembling that of regiment commander Oleh Shyriaiev ordering troops to open fire on soldier leaving positions without orders, declaring that under such circumstances, "there are no friendly forces."

When contacted by Texty for comment, Shyriaiev claimed his statement was not an order to fire on friendly troops, but referred to "movement regulations for soldiers from different units and coordination methods for friend-or-foe identification," arguing that disguised Russian forces could impersonate Ukrainian personnel.