The United Nations said on Wednesday it believes a viral video showing a captured Ukrainian soldier being tortured to death by Russian troops may be authentic.
The footage showed a captured Ukrainian fighter standing in a shallow ditch, being shot with multiple automatic weapons after chanting “Victory to Ukraine”.
A spokesperson said, “We are aware of this video posted on social media which shows a Ukrainian soldier hors de combat (not in combat) apparently being executed by the Russian Armed Forces. Based on a preliminary investigation However, we believe the video may be authentic.” told AFP for the UN human rights office.
“Since Russia’s armed invasion of Ukraine a year ago, the United Nations Human Rights Office has documented numerous violations of international humanitarian law against prisoners of war, including cases of summary executions of both Russian and Ukrainian POWs,” He said.
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“All these allegations must be investigated fairly and effectively and those responsible must be held accountable.”
Ukraine has vowed to avenge the apparent killing, which AFP could not independently verify.
Officials in Kiev blamed the Russian military and called on the International Criminal Court to investigate.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said on Tuesday that the scale of devastation caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine will harm the rights of generations to come.
Turks called this a “betrayal” of promises made after World War II to lay down universal human rights.
“The war in Ukraine has resulted in civilian casualties and destruction of a shocking magnitude,” Turki said in his keynote speech at the ongoing UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva.
“The rights of Ukrainians will be harmed for generations to come.”
Turki is due to speak further on the war in Ukraine on 31 March.
