The film clip began circulating on pro-Russian social media channels on Sunday and, according to the Washington Post, was filmed in the village of Malaya Rohan in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine.
German Bild has also analyzed the video and been able to verify that the video was recorded between Saturday and Sunday in Malaya Rohan.
The clip, whose authenticity has not yet been verified, shows what are said to be a number of Russian prisoners of war who are tied up and lying on the ground.
Some have bags on their heads.
In one sequence, three prisoners are taken out of a van, forced down on their knees and then shot in the back of the legs.
"Does not offend our prisoners"
The Ukrainian government has not confirmed the authenticity of the film, but says it is taking the allegations very seriously and that an investigation should be launched immediately.
- The government takes this very seriously and an investigation will be launched immediately, says Oleksij Arestovych, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, in an interview published on Youtube.
- We are a European army and we do not offend our prisoners.
If this turns out to be true, it is a completely unacceptable behavior.
"Can be obvious war crimes"
Said Mahmoudi is a professor of international law at Stockholm University and believes that if the video is genuine, it is about obvious war crimes from the Ukrainian forces.
- We will have to wait and see, but the reactions from Ukraine indicate that they can not firmly rule out that the video actually shows what is alleged.
Something that could have been done in other cases where it was about obvious fake propaganda videos from the Russian side.
Now they have had plenty of time to check with troops whether this really happened or not, but no denial has yet come.
Clear rules
If the video is genuine, Said Mahmoudi says that it is about obvious martial law crimes.
In addition to torture, there may also be milder crimes, such as showing the faces of prisoners of war to the public, something that is prohibited by the laws of war.
- There are very clear rules here.
Prisoners of war are a protected group that must be treated with respect and given food and water.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, there have been almost daily reports of war crimes by the Russian side, such as bombings and shelling of civilians.
- The type of crime we have seen and heard about has so far mainly been about the Russian side not making a distinction between civilian and military targets or using weapons that are banned.
Since it is Russia that has invaded Ukraine, it is they who can be responsible for this type of war crime, but how to treat prisoners of war is something that both Russia and Ukraine can control.