Authorities are still trying to understand why the suspect carried out the deadly attack
Magdeburg's Christmas market is a sad sight. This should have been the busiest weekend of the season, but the whole area has been cordoned off and all the stands are shut.
Police are the only people walking around the boarded-up mulled wine and gingerbread stalls.
On the pavement, red candles flicker, tributes laid for the victims.
Lukas, a truck driver, told me he felt compelled to come to pay his respects. "I wasn't there when it happened," he told me.
"But I work here in Magdeburg. I'm here every day. I've driven by here a thousand times."
"It's a tragedy for everyone here in Magdeburg. The perpetrator should be punished."
"We can only hope that the victims and their families find the strength to deal with it."
There is sorrow here – but there is anger too.
Many people here see this attack as a terrible lapse in security. That is a claim the authorities reject, although they have admitted the attacker entered the market using a route planned for emergency responders.
Michael, who also came to pay tributes to the victims, said "there should've been better security".
"We should have been prepared better but that was not done properly."
Standing at the security cordon, I heard a group of locals complaining loudly about Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz and regional politicians.
"They are wasting our tax money, they are just looking out for themselves. They are not interested in us. We just hear empty promises," one man said.
"They are turning what happened here around and want to put the blame on the opposition and use it for their election campaign," he said.
On Saturday evening, around the same time as the square in front of Magdeburg's Gothic cathedral was filled with mourners watching a memorial service, a demonstration took place nearby.
Protesters held a banner that read "Remigration now!" – a concept popular among the far-right – and shouted "those who do not love Germany should leave Germany".
Suspect in German market attack appears in court as anger grows over security lapses
It is not clear yet what impact this attack may have on Germany's upcoming election.
Germany has been hit by a number of deadly Islamist attacks in the past, but investigators said the evidence they have gathered so far suggests a different picture in this case.
Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the suspect appears to have been "Islamophobic".
The suspect, Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen, is from Saudi Arabia, and his social media posts suggest he had been critical of Islam.
He also expressed sympathy on social media for Germany's far-right political party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), re-tweeting posts from the party's leader and a far-right activist.
Oleksandr Matsievsky is now an iconic figure in Ukraine after his execution by Russian forces
Ukrainian sniper Oleksandr Matsievsky was captured by Russians in the first year of the full-scale invasion. Later, a video emerged showing him smoking his last cigarette in a forest, apparently next to a grave he had been forced to dig.
"Glory to Ukraine!" he says to his captors. Moments later, shots ring out and he falls dead.
His execution is one of many.
In October this year, nine captured Ukrainian soldiers were reportedly shot dead by Russian forces in Kursk region. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating the case including a photo showing half-naked bodies lying on the ground. This photo was enough for one of the victims, drone operator Ruslan Holubenko, to be identified by his parents.
"I recognised him by his underwear," his distraught mother told local broadcaster Suspilne Chernihiv. "I bought it for him before a trip to the sea. I also knew that his shoulder had been shot through. You could see that in the picture."
The list of executions goes on. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating reports of beheadings and a sword being used to kill a Ukrainian soldier with his hands tied behind his back.
In another instance, a video showed 16 Ukrainian soldiers apparently being lined up and then mowed down with automatic gunfire after emerging from a woods to surrender.
Getty Images
Russia and Ukraine have released some prisoners, including this Ukrainian pictured after his release in September 2024
Some of the executions were filmed by Russian forces themselves, while others were observed by Ukrainian drones hovering above.
The killings captured on such videos usually take place in woods or fields lacking distinctive features, which makes confirming their exact location difficult. BBC Verify, however, has been able to confirm in several cases - such as one beheading - that the victims wear Ukrainian uniforms and that the videos are recent.
Rising numbers
The Ukrainian prosecution service says that at least 147 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been executed by Russian forces since the start of the full-scale invasion, 127 of them this year.
"The upward trend is very clear, very obvious," says Yuri Belousov, the head of the War Department at the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office.
"Executions became systemic from November last year and have continued throughout all of this year. Sadly, their number has been particularly on the rise this summer and autumn. This tells us that they are not isolated cases. They are happening across vast areas and they have clear signs of being part of a policy - there is evidence that instructions to this effect are being issued."
International humanitarian law - particularly the Third Geneva Convention - offers protection to prisoners of war, and executing them is a war crime.
Despite this, Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of Russia's Chechnya, briefly ordered his commanders involved in the Ukraine war "to take no prisoners".
Getty Images
Ukrainians regularly rally across the country in support of their troops in Russian captivity
Impunity
Rachel Denber, Deputy Director of the Europe and Central Asia Division at Human Rights Watch, says there is no shortage of evidence supporting allegations of Ukrainian prisoners of war being executed by Russian troops. According to her, impunity plays a key part, and the Russian army has some serious questions to answer.
"What instructions do these units have, either formally or informally from their commanders? Are their commanders being quite clear about what the Geneva Conventions say about the treatment of prisoners of war? What are Russian military commanders telling their units about their conduct? What steps is the chain of command taking to investigate these instances? And if higher ups are not investigating, or not taking steps to prevent that conduct, are they aware that they too are criminally liable and can be held accountable?" she asks.
So far, there has been nothing to suggest that Russia is formally investigating claims that its forces have been executing Ukrainian prisoners of war. Even mentioning similar allegations is punishable by lengthy prison sentences in Russia.
According to Vladimir Putin, Russian forces have "always" treated Ukrainian prisoners of war "strictly in line with international legal documents and international conventions".
Ukrainian forces have also been accused of executing Russian prisoners of war, but the number of such claims has been much smaller.
Yuri Belousov says that the Ukrainian prosecution service treats such accusations "very seriously" and is investigating them - but so far no one has been charged.
According to Human Rights Watch, since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022 the Russian forces have committed "a litany of violations, including those which should be investigated as war crimes or crimes against humanity".
The Russian army's record of abuses is such that some Ukrainian soldiers prefer death to capture.
"He told me: Mum, I'll never surrender, never. Forgive me, I know you'll cry, but I don't want to be tortured," Ruslan Holubenko's mother says. Her son is still officially classed as missing in action, and she hopes against hope.
"I'll do everything that's possible and impossible to get my child back. I keep looking at this photo. Maybe he is just unconscious? I want to believe, I don't want to think that he's gone."
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, was the Bishop of Essex when David Tudor was twice reappointed to a senior position
A Church of England priest at the centre of a sexual abuse case was twice reappointed to a senior role during the Archbishop of York's time as Bishop of Chelmsford, the BBC can reveal.
New information shows Tudor's contract as area dean in Essex was renewed in 2013 and 2018, at which times Mr Cottrell knew he had paid compensation to a woman who says she was abused by him as a child.
The Archbishop of York said he regrets his handling of the case, with a spokesperson saying "he acknowledges this could have been handled differently".
They added that "all the risks around David Tudor were regularly reviewed" and that was the "main focus".
Rachel Ford, who told the investigation she was groomed by Tudor as a child, said the renewal of his contract as area dean was "an insult to all of his victims".
Ms Ford added that if responsibility for that lay with Mr Cottrell, it strengthened her feeling that he should resign.
The pressure on Mr Cottrell comes at a time of turmoil in the Church of England following a damning report into how it covered up prolific abuse by the barrister John Smyth.
The report led to the resignation of the Church's most senior figure, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. Mr Cottrell will take over his role temporarily for a few months in the New Year.
The BBC investigation showed Mr Cottrell was briefed in his first week as Bishop of Chelmsford about serious safeguarding issues surrounding Tudor.
These included that Tudor was convicted of indecently assaulting three underage girls and was jailed for six months in 1988, although the conviction was quashed on technical grounds. Mr Cottrell would also have known Tudor served a five-year ban from ministry.
By 2012, Mr Cottrell also knew Tudor had paid a £10,000 settlement to a woman who says she was sexually abused by him from the age of 11. In 2018, the Church of England issued an apology and a six-figure pay-out to another alleged victim.
Yet the priest was suspended only in 2019 when a police investigation was launched after another woman came forward alleging Tudor had abused her in the 1980s.
Facebook/Canvey CofE
David Tudor after being presented with a certificate signed by Bishop Stephen Cottrell making him an honorary canon of Chelmsford Cathedral in 2015
When first responding to the BBC's investigation, the Archbishop of York said he was "deeply sorry that we were not able to take action earlier", insisting he had acted at the first opportunity that was legally available to him.
Mr Cottrell also said he had been faced with a "horrible and intolerable" situation and that it was "awful to live with and to manage".
When Mr Cottrell became bishop in 2010, Tudor was into the second year of a five-year term as an area dean, a role overseeing 12 parishes in Essex.
His appointment to that post, under a different bishop, happened despite him working under a safeguarding agreement that barred him from being alone with children and entering schools.
The title was renewed twice under Mr Cottrell - in 2013 and 2018 - and he lost the title only when the term of office expired in 2020. It was not taken from him.
A spokesperson for the Archbishop said he "accepts responsibility for David Tudor remaining as Area Dean".
"No-one advised him that David Tudor should not continue as an Area Dean," said the Archbishop's office.
Another of Tudor's victims, who does not want to be identified, said she was "shocked and disappointed" to hear his tenure as area dean was twice renewed during Mr Cottrell's time as Bishop of Chelmsford.
"These are not the actions of a bishop dealing with a situation that was intolerable to him, in fact, quite the opposite. I call on him to do the honourable thing for the sake of the Church and resign," she says.
In 2015, under Mr Cottrell, Tudor was also made honorary canon of Chelmsford Cathedral.
The Archbishop's office insisted it happened because of a change in Church policy during Mr Cottrell's time as Bishop of Chelmsford, meaning area deans were automatically made honorary canons.
It was "not a promotion and not a personal reward".
However, a social media post from Tudor's Canvey Island parish in July 2015 suggests it was seen there as a reward.
Tudor's "hard work, determination and commitment to this place have been recognised by the diocese and this new position in the Church is very well-deserved," it said.
The BBC has also seen evidence - in leaked minutes from internal Church meetings in 2018 and 2019 - that Tudor's titles of area dean and honorary canon were discussed and there had been a suggestion Mr Cottrell could immediately have taken them away.
In October 2018, a meeting at Church House - the London headquarters of the Church of England - heard that Chelmsford diocese took the view that if Tudor "can be a parish priest, he can undertake the other roles".
A bishop from another diocese said "the Bishop of Chelmsford could remove DT's [David Tudor's] Canon and Area Dean titles straight away".
But in a follow-up discussion in November 2018, Chelmsford diocese advised it would not be appropriate because of "the difficulty of removing those titles without explaining why."
We asked Mr Cottrell's office why he had not followed the suggestion to remove Tudor's titles. We were told "it would not be appropriate to comment on any notes or decisions from a core group process which are confidential".
The investigation also highlighted the significant role played by former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey in the case.
We revealed Lord Carey had agreed to Tudor's return to priesthood after being suspended in 1989, and had also agreed to have Tudor's name removed from the list of clergy that had faced disciplinary action. He had also advocated for the priest.
After the BBC put this information to the former Archbishop of Canterbury, he wrote to give up his "permission to officiate", ending more than 65 years of ministry in the Church of England. Lord Carey made the announcement on Tuesday.
In October 2024, Tudor admitted sexual misconduct and was sacked by the Church. At no point has he responded to the BBC's attempts to speak with him.
On Friday evening, a man ploughed a car into a crowd of shoppers at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg.
The attack has left five people dead and more than 200 injured, with many in a critical condition.
One man has been arrested over the attack, and police believe he was solely responsible.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz travelled to Magdeburg on Saturday, and a city councillor declared Christmas over for the city.
How did the attack unfold?
Unverified footage on social media showed a black BMW travelling at high speeds through the pedestrian walkway between Christmas stalls.
Eyewitnesses described jumping out of the car's path, fleeing or hiding. One told the Reuters news agency that police were already at the venue and chased after the car before arresting the suspect.
Footage from verified sources showed armed police confronting and arresting a man who can be seen lying on the ground next to a stationary vehicle - a black BMW with significant damage to its front bumper.
BBC correspondent Damien McGuinness in Magdeburg reported that the market is "surrounded by concrete blocks". However, "there is a gap which is wide enough for pedestrians to go through, but tragically wide enough for a car to go into the Christmas market", he said.
City officials said around 100 police, medics and firefighters, as well as 50 rescue service personnel rushed to the scene in the aftermath of the attack.
Images from the scene on Friday night showed an area outside the market awash with blue lights as dozens of first responders attended to the injured.
Video shows arrest of Magdeburg attack suspect
Who are the victims?
Five people have died in the attack, one of whom is a child.
More than 200 people have been injured and at least 41 are in a critical condition.
The toll had earlier been reported as two dead and 68 injured, but was revised to the much higher totals on Saturday morning.
None of the victims have been identified yet.
Reuters
Tributes have been left at a church by the scene
Who is the suspect?
German media has identified the suspect as Taleb A, a psychiatrist who lives in Bernburg, around 40km (25 miles) south of Magdeburg.
The motive behind the attack remains unclear, but authorities have reported that they believe he carried out the attack alone.
Originally from Saudi Arabia, he arrived in Germany in 2006 and in 2016 was recognised as a refugee.
He ran a website that aimed to help other former Muslims flee persecution in their Gulf homelands.
Evidenced by social media posts, the suspect is an outspoken critic of Islam, and has promoted conspiracy theories regarding a plot to seek Islamic supremacy in Europe.
A report from Der Spiegel said a complaint was filed against Taleb A with the authorities a year ago over statements he made. Officials did not see any concrete threat, the report says.
What have officials said about the attack?
"The reports from Magdeburg raise the worst fears," the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said on social media platform X.
Magdeburg's city councillor for public order, Ronni Krug, said the Christmas market will stay closed and that "Christmas in Magdeburg is over", according to German public broadcaster MDR.
That sentiment was echoed on the market's website, which in the wake of the attack featured only a black screen with words of mourning, announcing that the market was over.
The Saudi government expressed "solidarity with the German people and the families of the victims", in a statement on X, and "affirmed its rejection of violence".
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was "horrified by the atrocious attack in Magdeburg", adding that his thoughts were with "the victims, their families and all those affected" in a post on X on Friday night.
The most painted of the poems of Alfred, Lord Tennyson are those of his Arthurian narrative Idylls of the King, that I have recently incorporated into my long series on paintings of Arthurian legends. Among those The Lady of Shalott remains the most popularly depicted. Several other poems of Tennyson have featured in notable paintings.
The Sleeping Beauty is a ‘fairy’ story widespread through most of Europe, best known from the version of the brothers Grimm, and retold by Tennyson initially in his 1830 poem of the same name, expanded into The Day-Dream of 1842.
The central story tells of a princess, who has seven good fairies as her godmothers. An eighth and evil fairy was overlooked, and seeks a way to get revenge. She puts a curse on the princess that she will prick her hand on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. One good fairy tries to reverse this, changing the spell so that it will put her into a deep sleep for a century, and can only be awakened by a kiss from a prince.
Royal edict then forbids all spinning throughout the kingdom, but when the princess is a young woman, she discovers an old woman spinning, and pricks her finger on the spindle. She then falls asleep. The king summons the good fairy to try to address the problem. Her solution is to put everyone in the castle to sleep, and to summon a forest with brambles and thorns around the castle, to prevent anyone from entering.
A prince later hears the story of the Sleeping Beauty, and rises to the challenge to penetrate the trees and bramble thickets around the castle. He discovers the sleeping princess, kisses her, and she and the rest of the castle wake up. The prince and princess marry, and they all live happily ever after.
John Collier (1850–1934), The Sleeping Beauty (1921), oil on canvas, 111.7 x 142.2 cm, Private collection. Wikimedia Commons.
A pupil of the Pre-Raphaelites working long after most of the them had died, John Collier chooses part of the story before the climax, in his Sleeping Beauty of 1921. Here the princess and her two companions are shown asleep, with the dense woodland and brambles seen through the window.
The same year that his first version of The Sleeping Beauty was published, Tennyson wrote a poem drawn from William Shakespeare’s comedy Measure for Measure, and the character of Mariana.
Set in Vienna, the play relates the events which take place when the Duke of Vienna makes it known that he is going away on a diplomatic mission. His deputy, Angelo, assumes control, although the Duke doesn’t actually go away at all, but remains in disguise to observe Angelo’s behaviour in his feigned absence.
Angelo has been betrothed to Mariana, but her dowry was lost at sea, so he has refused to marry her, leaving her isolated and in perpetual sadness, with no promise of any solution. During the Duke’s feigned absence, it becomes clear that Angelo lusts after another, Isabella, a novice nun who is the sister of Claudio, who Angelo has engineered to become sentenced to death for fornication. Angelo offers Isabella a deal to spare her brother’s life, in which she lets him deflower her.
The disguised Duke arranges a ‘bed trick’ in which it is actually Mariana who Angelo has sex with, which could be construed as consummation of their frozen marriage. Angelo then has sex with Mariana, believing her to be Isabella, but reneges on the deal to spare Claudio. The Duke arranges for a similar head to be sent to Angelo to ‘prove’ Claudio’s execution, in the ‘head trick’.
The Duke then ‘returns’ to Vienna, and is petitioned by Isabella and Mariana, for their claims against Angelo. Angelo attempts to lay blame against the Duke when he was disguised as a friar, so the Duke reveals his role, and proposes that Angelo be executed. Eventually it’s agreed that Angelo is made to marry Mariana, and revealed that Claudio was not executed.
Tennyson’s Mariana focusses solely on her ‘despondent isolation’ before most of the events of Shakespeare’s play. Its 84 lines end with the summary Then, said she, “I am very dreary,
He will not come,” she said;
She wept, “I am aweary, aweary,
O God, that I were dead!”
A couple of years later, Tennyson rewrote the poem and published his new version under the title Mariana in the South in 1832. That follows more closely the tragic circumstances of The Lady of Shalott, ending in Mariana’s death. This leaves us with a choice of two or even three different Mariana narratives, and a fourth if we include Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel Ruth, published in 1853, which was apparently inspired by Millais’ painting below.
Some of John Everett Millais’ sketches for his major painting of Mariana have survived, and show how from early on in its development, the figure’s posture and location had been decided.
The final version of Mariana (1851) was first shown at the Royal Academy in 1851, together with lines 9-12 of Tennyson’s original Mariana: She only said, “My life is dreary,
He cometh not,” she said;
She said, “I am aweary, aweary;
I would that I were dead!”
Millais’ superb and richly-coloured painting is full of symbols: fallen leaves to indicate the passage of time, her embroidery as a means of passing that time, the Annunciation in the stained glass contrasting her with the Virgin’s fulfilment, the motto ‘in coelo quies’ (in heaven is rest), and the snowdrop flower in the glass meaning consolation. Mariana’s posture is intended to indicate her yearning for Angelo.
Marie Spartali Stillman (1844–1927), Mariana (1867), watercolor and gouache on paper, 38.1 × 27.4 cm. Private collection. Wikimedia Commons.
Marie Spartali Stillman’s accomplished watercolour of Mariana from 1867 may have been inspired by Millais’ painting, and uses the same basic setting of Mariana gazing out of a window with yearning. However she dispenses with Millais’ complex symbols, and fills her paper with Mariana herself, relying on her facial expression and body language alone.
When first exhibited at the Dudley Gallery, it was well received, but didn’t sell. It then vanished until its re-discovery in the 1980s. It has been suggested that this painting may have been inspiration for Rossetti’s versions.
Rossetti made two quite different studies before painting his finished work of 1870, that are generally accepted as being part of his Aesthetic style rather than the earlier Pre-Raphaelite.
The Heart of the Night (Mariana in the Moated Grange) (1862) is an intriguing watercolour study quite unlike any of the other depictions of Mariana, but clearly referring to Tennyson’s first poem. The figure is obviously yearning deeply, but instead of facing a window, she inhabits the dark. Some symbols are apparent in the distance, including a spinning wheel indicating time, and there are love letters scattered in the foreground.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882), Mariana (Study) (1868), red, brown, off-white and black chalks on tan paper; four sheets butt-joined (and slightly tented), 90.8 × 78.1 cm, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Gift of Jessie Lemont Trausil, 1947), New York, NY. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Rossetti’s next study of 1868 is transformed by his use of Jane Morris (wife of William Morris) as the model, and this probably developed from a study of her head alone. There is also a link to reality, in that the Morris’s marriage was going through a difficult period, and Jane and Rossetti were becoming increasingly close.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882), Mariana (1870), oil on canvas, 109.8 × 90.5 cm, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen, Scotland. Wikimedia Commons.
Rossetti’s finished painting of Mariana (1870) strangely reverts to that of Shakespeare’s play, and depicts the moments in Act IV scene 1 in which a boy sings to Mariana. Rossetti dresses the woman in the same blue as Millais, and uses Jane Morris as his model. Mariana now sits full of yearning, her embroidery on her lap, as she listens to the boy’s song, bringing in the art of music. There appears little in common with Stillman’s painting, though.
Philip Hermogenes Calderon (1833–1898), Mariana (date not known), oil on canvas, 61 × 45.7 cm, Private collection. Wikimedia Commons.
Philip Hermogenes Calderon’s sketchy painting is even more obviously linked to the Shakespeare play, and those same events in Act IV scene 1. The boy is not shown in song, though, as he stares at Mariana’s face, which we cannot see, as she is looking into the canvas. Her purity is confirmed by the white lily flowers.
Valentine Cameron Prinsep (1838–1904), Mariana (c 1888) from the The Graphic Gallery of Shakespeare’s Heroines, Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Folger Shakespeare Library Digital Image Collection, via Wikimedia Commons.
Valentine Cameron Prinsep’s Mariana (c 1888) was intended to serve as an illustration for a printed edition of Shakespeare’s play; this version was printed by Goupil in Paris in 1896. Instead of following Rossetti and Calderon, he uses a similar composition to Stillman. Mariana is here dressed in white, symbolising her purity, and stares out of anachronistic diamond-pane windows, full of yearning.
Henrietta Rae (1859–1928), Mariana (1892), oil on canvas, dimensions and location not known. Via Fish, A, at archive.org.
Henrietta Rae painted her version of Mariana in 1892, and appears again to refer to Marie Spartali Stillman’s painting of 1867, with its bottle-glass windows, although her composition looks original.
Almost fifty years after Millais’ first painting, John William Waterhouse chose to use Tennyson’s later reworking of his poem, Mariana in the South.
John William Waterhouse (1849–1917) Study for Mariana in the South (c 1897), oil on canvas, 134.5 × 86.3 cm, The Cecil French Bequest Gallery, London. Wikimedia Commons.
One study has survived, showing how Waterhouse has moved closer to popular images derived from The Lady of Shalott. The moated grange is now kept in permanent darkness, shutters closed. Mariana yearns in front of a large mirror, as if dressing herself in preparation for her death.
John William Waterhouse (1849–1917), Mariana in the South (c 1897), oil on canvas, 114 × 74 cm, Private collection. Wikimedia Commons.
Waterhouse’s finished Mariana in the South (c 1897) places her in a posture more closely derived from that of Millais. On the floor are some of her love letters, and there is a large red rose of love on her breast. At the left edge, on a distant mantleshelf, a candle burns its vigil for her lost betrothal, and her prayers that she will one day marry. This matches Tennyson’s words “And in the liquid mirror glowed the clear perfection of her face” from his second version of the poem.
In early 1835, Tennyson wrote a brief elegy describing his emotion of loss following the death of his close friend and fellow poet Arthur Henry Hallam in 1833, titled Break, Break, Break. It was published in 1842.
Elihu Vedder (1836–1923), Memory (1870), oil on panel, 51.6 x 37.5 cm, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA. The Athenaeum.
This remarkable painting by Elihu Vedder is one of the earliest symbolist images made by an American artist. Its origins are probably in sketches he made in 1866 and 1867, according to Regina Soria. The earlier of those was a response to Tennyson’s poem Break, Break, Break, pondering the memory of loved ones when contemplating the sea, as Vedder shows here.
Oleksandr Matsievsky is now an iconic figure in Ukraine after his execution by Russian forces
Ukrainian sniper Oleksandr Matsievsky was captured by Russians in the first year of the full-scale invasion. Later, a video emerged showing him smoking his last cigarette in a forest, apparently next to a grave he had been forced to dig.
"Glory to Ukraine!" he says to his captors. Moments later, shots ring out and he falls dead.
His execution is one of many.
In October this year, nine captured Ukrainian soldiers were reportedly shot dead by Russian forces in Kursk region. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating the case including a photo showing half-naked bodies lying on the ground. This photo was enough for one of the victims, drone operator Ruslan Holubenko, to be identified by his parents.
"I recognised him by his underwear," his distraught mother told local broadcaster Suspilne Chernihiv. "I bought it for him before a trip to the sea. I also knew that his shoulder had been shot through. You could see that in the picture."
The list of executions goes on. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating reports of beheadings and a sword being used to kill a Ukrainian soldier with his hands tied behind his back.
In another instance, a video showed 16 Ukrainian soldiers apparently being lined up and then mowed down with automatic gunfire after emerging from a woods to surrender.
Getty Images
Russia and Ukraine have released some prisoners, including this Ukrainian pictured after his release in September 2024
Some of the executions were filmed by Russian forces themselves, while others were observed by Ukrainian drones hovering above.
The killings captured on such videos usually take place in woods or fields lacking distinctive features, which makes confirming their exact location difficult. BBC Verify, however, has been able to confirm in several cases - such as one beheading - that the victims wear Ukrainian uniforms and that the videos are recent.
Rising numbers
The Ukrainian prosecution service says that at least 147 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been executed by Russian forces since the start of the full-scale invasion, 127 of them this year.
"The upward trend is very clear, very obvious," says Yuri Belousov, the head of the War Department at the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office.
"Executions became systemic from November last year and have continued throughout all of this year. Sadly, their number has been particularly on the rise this summer and autumn. This tells us that they are not isolated cases. They are happening across vast areas and they have clear signs of being part of a policy - there is evidence that instructions to this effect are being issued."
International humanitarian law - particularly the Third Geneva Convention - offers protection to prisoners of war, and executing them is a war crime.
Despite this, Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of Russia's Chechnya, briefly ordered his commanders involved in the Ukraine war "to take no prisoners".
Getty Images
Ukrainians regularly rally across the country in support of their troops in Russian captivity
Impunity
Rachel Denber, Deputy Director of the Europe and Central Asia Division at Human Rights Watch, says there is no shortage of evidence supporting allegations of Ukrainian prisoners of war being executed by Russian troops. According to her, impunity plays a key part, and the Russian army has some serious questions to answer.
"What instructions do these units have, either formally or informally from their commanders? Are their commanders being quite clear about what the Geneva Conventions say about the treatment of prisoners of war? What are Russian military commanders telling their units about their conduct? What steps is the chain of command taking to investigate these instances? And if higher ups are not investigating, or not taking steps to prevent that conduct, are they aware that they too are criminally liable and can be held accountable?" she asks.
So far, there has been nothing to suggest that Russia is formally investigating claims that its forces have been executing Ukrainian prisoners of war. Even mentioning similar allegations is punishable by lengthy prison sentences in Russia.
According to Vladimir Putin, Russian forces have "always" treated Ukrainian prisoners of war "strictly in line with international legal documents and international conventions".
Ukrainian forces have also been accused of executing Russian prisoners of war, but the number of such claims has been much smaller.
Yuri Belousov says that the Ukrainian prosecution service treats such accusations "very seriously" and is investigating them - but so far no one has been charged.
According to Human Rights Watch, since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022 the Russian forces have committed "a litany of violations, including those which should be investigated as war crimes or crimes against humanity".
The Russian army's record of abuses is such that some Ukrainian soldiers prefer death to capture.
"He told me: Mum, I'll never surrender, never. Forgive me, I know you'll cry, but I don't want to be tortured," Ruslan Holubenko's mother says. Her son is still officially classed as missing in action, and she hopes against hope.
"I'll do everything that's possible and impossible to get my child back. I keep looking at this photo. Maybe he is just unconscious? I want to believe, I don't want to think that he's gone."
In Damascus, members of Assad's Alawite sect now fear reprisals
Driving into Mezzeh 86, a working-class neighbourhood in the west of Damascus, we are waved through a checkpoint manned by fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Buildings are rundown and in need of repairs.
This area is dominated by people from Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam whose members make up one of Syria's biggest religious minorities.
Alawites controlled power in the predominantly Sunni Muslim country for the 50 years of the Assad family's rule, holding top positions in the government, military and intelligence services.
Now, many from the community fear reprisals following the overthrow of the Assad regime by rebels led by HTS, a Sunni Islamist group that was once al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria.
EPA
Bashar al-Assad was overthrown after 24 years in power
Dozens of Alawites who we had contacted by phone had refused to speak to us, with many saying they were scared.
In Mezzeh 86, the presence of HTS fighters at a checkpoint did not appear to be a source of anxiety.
Many Alawites did come up and speak with us - keen to distance themselves from Assad's regime.
"During the Assad regime, the stereotype about the Alawites is that they got all the work opportunities and that they are wealthy. But, in fact, most Alawites are poor and you'll only find one among a thousand who is rich," said Mohammad Shaheen, a 26-year-old pharmacy student.
"Even when HTS went to Alawite villages near the coast, they found all villages were poor. Only the Assad family amassed wealth," he added, referring to the Alawite heartland in the country's west.
Hasan Dawood, a shopkeeper, chimed in: "We were slaves for him - drivers, cooks and cleaners."
There's also a sense of betrayal.
"Bashar was a traitor. And the way he fled was cowardly. He should have at least addressed people and told us what was happening. He left without a word, which made the situation chaotic," said Mohammad.
But people from the Alawite community, and indeed from this neighbourhood, did serve in Assad's brutal security forces. Do they fear reprisals against them, we asked.
"Those who were in the military and did bad things have fled. No-one knows where they are. They are afraid of revenge," said Thaier Shaheen, a construction worker.
"But people who don't have blood on their hands, they are not scared, and have stayed back."
There have been reports of a few reprisal killings in parts of the country, but so far there is no evidence to suggest they were carried out by HTS.
"Until now, we are OK. We are talking to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and they are respectful. But there are people who aren't from HTS but pretend to be them who are making threats. They want our society to fail and they are the ones we are scared of," said Mohammad.
After taking control of Damascus, HTS and its allies said those from the deposed regime who had been involved in torture and killings would be held to account, although it is unclear so far what form that justice will take.
HTS also said that the rights and freedoms of religious and ethnic minorities would be protected.
The group has a jihadist past which it has distanced itself from. But it has an Islamist present, and many are asking what that will mean for Syria's plural society.
Yogita Limaye
"We don't want Syria to become another Afghanistan" - Youssef Sabbagh
"I'm so happy because the Assad regime fell. This is like a dream come true. No-one wants to live under dictatorship. But there is concern. I have to be realistic," said Youssef Sabbagh, a Christian lawyer.
"HTS are here now, and they are an Islamic militia. That's what they are. I wish, I pray they will be a modern Islamic militia."
"I speak not just as a Christian, a lot of Syrians, Muslims and everyone, we don't want Syria to become another Afghanistan, we don't want to become a new Libya. We have already suffered a lot."
Syria's Christian community is one of the oldest in the world, with the country home to some renowned holy sites.
When the uprising against Assad began in 2011, Christians were initially cautious about taking sides, but eventually members from the community fought on both sides of the conflict.
In the past week, the Archbishop of Homs, Jacques Murad, told the BBC there had already been three meetings with HTS, and they had been able to express their views and concerns honestly.
So far, the signs are re-assuring for many Christians.
Bars and restaurants serving alcohol are open in the Christian quarter of Old Damascus and in other parts of the city. Christmas decorations are also up in many places.
At a restaurant in the Old City, we met lawyer Ouday al-Khayat, who is a Shia Muslim.
"There's no doubt that there's anticipation and anxiety. The signs that come from HTS are good, but we must wait and watch," he said.
"It's not possible to know the opinions of all Shia but there is a concern about a scenario similar to Libya or Iraq. I believe, though, that Syria is different. Syrian society has been diverse for a very long time."
Yogita Limaye
"We are prepared to stay [protesting] and demand our rights" - Wajiha al-Hajjar
We drove around 110km (70 miles) south-east of Damascus, through black volcanic hills, to the city of Suweida, which is home to most of Syria's Druze population.
The Druze faith is another offshoot of Shia Islam, but has its own unique identity and beliefs.
Many Druze were loyal to the Assad regime, who they believed would protect minorities.
But opposition grew steadily during the war, and there were frequent protests in recent years.
The latest started in Suweida's central square in August 2023 and continued until the day the regime fell.
Activist Wajiha al-Hajjar believes that the protests were not brutally cracked down on like others in Syria, because Assad wanted to show the world and his foreign allies that he was protecting minorities.
"They did try to suppress our protest but in a different way - not through weapons or shelling, but by depriving us of passports and civil rights, and access to official documents. It became difficult to leave Suweida and a kind of siege was imposed," she said.
Hundreds still gather at the square every day. When we visited, there was an air of celebration. Songs were blaring on a loudspeaker, and young girls and boys were doing a gymnastics performance, their families clapping and cheering for them.
"We are celebrating the fall of the regime, but this gathering is also a show of strength. In the event that there is an extreme regime with extreme laws, we are prepared to stay in this square and demand our rights and demand equality," Wajiha said.
Suweida had a quasi-autonomous status under Assad, and the Druze want that to continue.
It is just one example of the diversity and complexity of Syrian society, and the challenges facing the country's new government.
Additional reporting by Aamir Peerzada, Leen Al-Saadi and Sanjay Ganguly
US F/A-18 fighter jets were used in the attack (file picture)
The US military says it has carried out a series of air strikes on the Yemeni capital Sanaa targeting a missile storage site and command facilities operated by Iran-backed Houthi militants.
US Central Command added it also hit multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea.
It comes hours after the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Israel which injured more than a dozen people in a Tel Aviv park.
The Houthis, an Iran-backed rebel group that controls north-western Yemen, began attacking Israel and international shipping shortly after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians.
In a statement, the US military's Central Command said the strikes aimed to "disrupt and degrade Houthi operations, such as attacks against US Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden".
The US military also said it struck "multiple Houthi one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles, or drones, and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea".
American F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets were used in the operation, the US Central Command added.
Since November 2023, Houthi missile attacks have sunk two vessels in the Red Sea and damaged others. They have claimed, often falsely, that they are targeting ships only linked to Israel, the US or the UK.
Last December, the US, UK and 12 other nations launched Operation Prosperity Guardian to protect Red Sea shipping lanes against the attacks.
Reuters
A Houthi missile hit Tel Aviv on Saturday with 16 people being treated for minor injuries
On Saturday, Israel's military said its attempts to shoot down a projectile launched from Yemen were unsuccessful and the missile struck a park in Tel Aviv.
Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's emergency medical service, said it treated 16 people who were "mildly injured" by glass shards from shattered windows in nearby buildings.
Another 14 people suffered minor injuries on their way to protected areas were also treated, it said.
A Houthi spokesman said the group hit a military target using a hypersonic ballistic missile.
Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported that nine people were killed in the port of Salif and the Ras Issa oil terminal.
The Houthis have vowed to continue their attacks until the war in Gaza ends. The US says its latest strike is part of a commitment to protect itself and its allies.
（德国之声中文网）美国中央司令部（CENTCOM）周六晚间宣布，一架F/A-18超级大黄蜂战斗机在从航空母舰“哈里·杜鲁门”号(USS Harry S. Truman)起飞后，被己方导弹巡洋舰“葛底斯堡”号(USS Gettysburg)“误击”后坠毁。这架飞机属于弗吉尼亚州大洋娜海军航空站第11攻击战斗机中队“红色裂缝者”。
huangdog: 分享一下我用 hyper-v 做的 nas 服务器，非常稳定省心，模块化，懒人福音
这里提供方向理念和思路，至于实现（安装，设置 等等具体步骤），网上教程已经非常多，在这里就不表了。
我在我的 diynas 安装 windows server 2019 ，只开 hyper-v ，不安装第三方软件，尽量在 host 保持软件纯粹。
在 hyper-v 里，我开了 2 个 vm： 一个 vm 是用来管理硬盘的 nas 系统，作用只有一个，就是提供访问接口（比如 SMB ），给其他电脑，vm ，其他设备等存取硬盘的内容。在 host ，我把所有硬盘都脱机，然后都安排给这个 vm ，硬盘直通，让这个装了 nas 系统的 vm 直接管理它们。这个 nas 系统，可以装 windows server ，可以装 omv ，可以装 truenas ，什么都可以。我自己为了方便让硬盘用 ntfs ，就装 windows server 2019 。因为 ntfs 的兼容性非常棒，随时把硬盘拔出来插到电脑上直接读取。如果想要更详尽的硬盘管理，比如硬盘休眠，可以装 truenas 。由于我会定时整机关机，所以我不需要由 nas 系统来提供硬盘休眠。这个 vm 尽量不要折腾它，改变它，让它持续稳定运行，没有折腾它的必要。
另一个 vm 是下载机，用作下载和文件同步的系统，以 smb 的方式连接装了 nas 系统那个 vm ，装的 os 是 windows 10 ltsc 2019 ，里面装了各种下载软件，百度云，bt ，pt 软件，btsync ，goodsync 等，非常繁杂，这是我这套 nas 服务器提供各种花样服务的 vm 。这个 vm 是经常被折腾的，很容易出问题，但这个 vm 出问题，也不会影响到其他设备访问硬盘里面的内容。，喜欢折腾的可以装黑群，但我不喜欢无意义的折腾，而且不够稳定，所以我装 windows 。黑群的软件，在 windows 上面很容易找到代替品，没必要迷信黑群。windows 的兼容性是无与伦比的。
使用 hyper-v 的好处是，可以更方便管理这些干活的系统： 0.windows 系的极高硬件兼容性，省心！ 1.比如定期快照，vm 出问题崩溃了，1 秒恢复。 2.还有把功能模块化，一个 vm 专门做管理硬盘，不安装任何第三方软件。一个 vm 专门提供功能，安装各种软件，非常繁杂，这个 vm 特别容易出现问题，比如出现软件冲突等，即使这个 vm 炸了，也不影响旁边专职管理硬盘的 vm ，对其他设备访问硬盘毫无影响。 3.host 关机，可以自动保存 vm 的运行状态。host 开机就可以自动恢复这些 vm 的运行状态，在 vm 的角度，就像从来没有关机过那样。非常方便。为了延长硬盘寿命，我在 host 设置了每天半夜定时关机，白天定时开机，整机停机。 4.最重要的是，使用 hyper-v 这种 type1 虚拟机对性能的损耗非常低！既有 type1 虚拟机的高性能，又有图形界面的方便管理。
备份文件方面： 在手机上，我在手机上安装 btsync ，在下载机 vm 里也安装一个 btsync ，手机文件会自动经过做下载机的 vm 里面的 btsync ，以同步方式存储到隔壁 nas 系统的 vm 的硬盘里面。
在 pc 上，我用 goodsync ，直接往第一个 nas 系统的 vm 提供的存储接口（就是 SMB ）备份 pc 的文件进去。整个过程，管理硬盘的第一个 vm ，从来不需要安装任何第三方软件，只需要提供访问硬盘的接口，其他系统会自己用各自的软件通过这个接口往 nas 系统提供的硬盘存取东西。这才是 nas 的最基本基本功用：管理硬盘，提供访问接口。
我的理念就是： 不重复造轮子，尽量依赖现成的成熟软件（ windows server ，btsync ，goodsync ）。模块化管理，vm 可随时替换，复原，保存运行。非常稳定省心。
平时管理这台 nas 服务器，我都用 RDP 连上去 host 和 vm 。使用 RDP ，比群晖那个 web 界面管理，强多了，最纯粹直接的桌面体验。
The authorities said they were struggling to understand the motives for the attack with a car in the eastern city of Magdeburg, in which a 9-year-old boy was among the five victims.
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