Video of a Ukrainian soldier apparently executed after shouting “Glory to Ukraine,” which went viral on social media, “appears to be authentic,” the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Wednesday.
“We are aware of this video posted on social media showing a Ukrainian soldier outside the battle, apparently executed by the Russian forces. Based on preliminary analysis, we believe the video appears authentic.”said a spokesman for the High Commission.
In the video, which lasts 12 seconds, we see a man in military uniform, but unarmed, smoking a cigarette. A man, who is not in the video, says in Russian to another comrade: “Film him”.
“Honor to Ukraine!”shouted the Ukrainian soldier, who was immediately hit by a volley of gunfire. The man behind the camera says: “Die, asshole”.
The High Commission recalled that it had “documented numerous violations of international human law against prisoners of war, including cases of summary executions of Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war”.
“Impartial and effective investigations into all these allegations must be conducted and those responsible held accountable.”emphasized the spokesperson for the High Commission.
The AFP news agency could not independently verify when and where the video was taken, or whether, as Ukrainian authorities claim, it showed a prisoner who was the victim of a war crime.
This video went viral on social media on Monday, with many posts, photos and drawings paying tribute to the soldier’s bravery and patriotism.
The Ukrainian army vowed Tuesday to avenge its soldier.
“According to preliminary data, [o soldado morto] is the soldier of the 30th Mechanized Brigade Tymofiy Mykolayovych Shadura”the Ukrainian army said on the Telegram social network on Tuesday.
Brigade spokesman Anatoly Iavorsky told AFP the 41-year-old soldier was deployed in December and was from the Zhytomyr region.
The soldier’s body is in occupied territory and final identification will only be possible after recovery and expertise, the Ukrainian army said.
Source: DN
