Ukraine says Russia is worse than ISIS after beheading video | News of the war between Russia and Ukraine

Zelensky called Russian forces “monsters” after a video emerged showing a Ukrainian soldier being beheaded with a knife.

Ukrainian officials have condemned Russian forces after a video went viral on social media showing the beheading of a Ukrainian prisoner with a knife.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the authenticity of the video, which quickly spread online.

The footage shows a man in military uniform beheading a man wearing the yellow armband used by Ukrainian soldiers.

The video is significantly blurred and initially contains audio, indicating that the victim may still have been alive when the attack began.

The Kremlin called the video “terrible” and said it should be verified. Moscow has denied in the past that its forces committed atrocities during the conflict.

“There is something that no one in the world can ignore: how easy it is to kill these monsters,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

We will not forget anything. We will not forgive the murderers. There will be legal liability for everything. “The defeat of terrorism is necessary,” he added.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba described the video as “terrifying”.

“It is absurd that Russia, which is worse than ISIS, holds the presidency of the Security Council,” he wrote on Twitter, referring to the United Nations Security Council, where Russia assumed the rotating presidency this month. “Russian terrorists must be expelled from Ukraine and the United Nations and held accountable for their crimes.”

The Islamic State (ISIS) became famous for publishing videos of beheading captives when they took control of large swathes of Iraq and Syria from 2014-2017.

Ukraine’s Internal Security Agency (SBU) said it had opened an investigation into the suspected war crime.

“Yesterday, a video appeared on the Internet showing how the Russian occupiers show their brutal nature – cruelly torturing a Ukrainian prisoner and beheading him,” the SBU agency wrote on Telegram.

The European Union also pledged to hold war criminals accountable.

“We have no further information about the authenticity of the video. Having said that, if confirmed, this is yet another brutal reminder of the inhumane nature of Russian aggression,” said EU spokeswoman Nabila Masrali.

“The European Union reiterates its firm commitment to holding all perpetrators of war crimes and accomplices in connection with the Russian war to account,” she said.

The footage comes days after a separate video clip appeared on pro-Russian social media channels showing the bodies of two beheaded Ukrainian soldiers lying next to a destroyed military vehicle.

It is believed to have been filmed by members of the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary organisation. It seems that the deceased Ukrainian soldiers had their hands cut off. Al Jazeera was unable to verify the authenticity of the video.