Outrage over video of alleged beheading of living Ukrainian POW

KIEV.- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed this Wednesday that Russian “beasts” kill “easily” after posting on social media. Video of alleged beheading of Ukrainian POW.

“How easily these beasts kill! The world needs to see this video of the execution of a prisoner of war in Ukraine. This is a video from Russia,” Zelensky said in a message posted on Instagram.

“This is not an accident […] This has happened before. It was in Bucha. Thousands of times,” he added, referring to the Kyiv suburb that has become a symbol of atrocities attributed to the Russian military. “Prison for murderers, court for evil government,” he said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba condemned the “terrifying act of beheading a Ukrainian prisoner of war by the Russian military.” Russia is worse than the Islamic StateA jihadist organization films the executions of its hostages, usually by beheading.

“Russian terrorists must be expelled from Ukraine and the UN and held accountable for their crimes,” he declared on Twitter.

The 1 minute and 40 second video, which has been circulating online since Tuesday, shows a masked man in uniform lying on the ground screaming and inflicting neck injuries on another man. “It hurts!”.

After a few seconds, the screaming stops and a man behind the camera can be heard urging the executioner in Russian. “Cut off his head”. He completes the beheading with a knife and, in the end, Show your head to the camera.

“You must put it in a bag and send it to the commander.”says a voice in Russian. The camera also focuses on the victim’s vest bearing the trident of Ukrainian armor; And a skull.

Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) He started an investigation Attempts should be made to trace those responsible, no details of which have been released.

Kremlin explained Video of alleged execution “horrific” “It is necessary to confirm the credibility of the Ukrainian army” before pronouncing, he stressed.

“The first thing to do is verify the authenticity of these terrible images. Of course, it is a terrible thing.”Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “It is necessary to verify whether it is true or not, where it happened and if it happened, who is responsible,” he added.

“First of all, in the world of fake news we live in, it is necessary to verify the authenticity of this video,” Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agency TASS.

For its part, the UN Office for Human Rights has condemned and pointed out the “brutal execution”. The second document, in which “mutilated bodies” appearPeople captured by Russian forces.

For the United Nations mission in Ukraine, these are “particularly horrifying” videos due to their content. “This is not an isolated incident,” the organization stressed.

The UN has evidence of “gross” violations of human rights since the beginning of the Russian military offensive more than a year ago and counts prisoners of war among the victims. He called for the latest incidents to be investigated and the “culprits to be held accountable for their crimes”.

The United Nations Office for the Special Monitoring of Human Rights in Ukraine has registered some 8,500 civilians have died since the start of the conflict, including half a thousand children. Additionally, more than 14,200 civilians have been injured, including nearly 1,000 minors, it estimates. The actual figures are likely to be “significantly higher”. Due to lack of data in some areas.

The European Union (EU) has addressed the video, saying it will demand “all perpetrators and accomplices of war crimes” in Ukraine.

The EU “has no information on the authenticity of this video”, however “If confirmed, this is yet another grim reminder of the inhumanity of the Russian occupation”Nabila Masraeli, a spokesperson for European diplomatic chief Joseph Borel, announced.

AFP and DPA agencies

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