Ukraine on Wednesday accused Russia of being “worse than the Islamic State” after a video began circulating on social media of alleged Russian soldiers beheading a Ukrainian prisoner. The Kremlin admits the images are “terrible” but says it must “verify” the authenticity, claiming that “we live in a world of fakes“, that is, from counterfeits. Kiev is investigating to try to identify the alleged victim, as well as those responsible.
“There’s something no one in the world can ignore: how easily these monsters kill,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Telegram message. “This is a video of Russia as it is,” he added, claiming that this is not an “accident” or “an isolated episode” – last month another video showed a soldier being shot after saying “Slava Ukraini” (Honor to Ukraine). In his message, Zelensky says that this case will also not be forgotten and promises that those responsible will be brought to justice. “The defeat of terror is necessary,” he added.
The video, the authenticity of which has not been independently verified, shows alleged Russian soldiers beheading a prisoner wearing a yellow armband, like the Ukrainian army with a knife. A second video, also circulating, shows the decapitated, handless corpses of two Ukrainian soldiers next to a wrecked military vehicle. It is unknown where and when both were filmed.
“It is absurd that Russia, which is worse than ISIS, should preside over the United Nations Security Council [presidência rotativa, durante o mês de abril]wrote the head of Ukraine’s diplomacy, Dmytro Kuleba, on Twitter. The militants of the Islamic State (ISIS, for its acronym in English), which controlled parts of Iraq and Syria, used the proliferation of videos of beheadings to promote their dehumanize victims and incite terror. “Russian terrorists must be expelled from Ukraine and the UN and held accountable for their crimes.” Kuleba added.
The UN said in a statement issued by the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine that it was “appalled by the particularly horrific videos” shared on social media. The European Union (EU) has committed to bringing those responsible for war crimes to justice. “We have no further information on the veracity of the video. That said, if confirmed, this is yet another brutal reminder of the inhumane nature of Russian aggression,” said EU spokeswoman Nabila Massrali.
Russian state television journalist Andrei Medvedev speculated that the release of the video is “very topical” for the Ukrainian military, according to the AP. This is because it can help to “set the people on fire ideologically” before the expected spring counter-offensive. Advisor to the Ukrainian president, Mykhailo Podolyak, claims that the video’s release was precisely intended to “demoralize public opinion or at least the psychological perception of war”. But, he reiterated in Telegram, “none of Russia’s actions demoralized the Ukrainians, because we have no other way but to win.”
Meanwhile, Russia has passed a law that allows sending recruitment and mobilization orders electronically, and not just in person as it has been until now. This will make it more difficult for the Russians to escape mobilization, while prohibiting those who have been mobilized from leaving the country. The law was passed in just two days. While the Kremlin has denied that it is preparing a second wave of recruitment – in September 2022 there was a first involving 300,000 reservists – many Russians are concerned about this possibility of meeting the expected spring counter-offensive in Ukraine.
This will be prepared, although Washington (according to classified documents that have been made public) is not confident that it will succeed. Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that these documents contained false and outdated information and that a “special psychological operation” to divide Kiev’s allies. The US continues to investigate the source of the information leak.
Source: DN
