(Kyiv) UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday denounced in Kyiv the “shocking” footage of a viral video in which a captured Ukrainian soldier appears to have been shot after shouting “glory to Ukraine” “.
“The recent shocking images of a Ukrainian soldier apparently summarily killed are another tragic reminder that the laws of war must be strictly adhered to,” Guterres said alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
On the video of a dozen seconds, we see a man in military uniform, but unarmed smoking a cigarette. Another man, off camera, said in Russian, apparently to a comrade: “film it”.
“Glory to Ukraine! », retorts the Ukrainian and, immediately, gusts pierce him. The man behind the camera then lets go: “Die, you bastard”.
The video “appears to be authentic”, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said earlier on Wednesday.
The Office of the High Commissioner recalled having “documented numerous violations of international humanitarian law against prisoners of war, including cases of summary executions of Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war”.
“Impartial and effective investigations must be carried out into all these allegations and those responsible must be held to account,” the spokesperson stressed.
AFP could not independently verify where and when the video was taken, or whether it showed, as Ukrainian officials claim, a prisoner victim of a war crime.
This video went viral Monday on social media, with many posts, photos and drawings paying tribute to this soldier, his courage and his patriotism.
The Ukrainian army vowed on Tuesday to avenge its soldier.
“According to preliminary data, the deceased is the serviceman of the 30e mechanized brigade Tymofiy Mykolayovych Shadura,” the Ukrainian army said on Telegram on Tuesday.
The body of the soldier is in occupied territory and his “final” identification will only be possible after his recovery and expertise, said the army, while the media mentioned the identity of another man.
