Ukrainian forces suspected of abuses against Russian soldiers
Ukrainian soldiers inspect trenches used by Russian soldiers during the occupation of villages around kyiv on April 1.
AP - Rodrigo Abd
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Following the dissemination of images on social networks, the Ukrainian army is suspected of abuses against Russian soldiers.
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The images of the Boutcha mass graves near the Ukrainian capital have shocked the world and cast a harsh light on the abuses committed by Russian soldiers in this war.
Today, overwhelming videos in support, it is the turn of the Ukrainian soldiers to be suspected of ill-treatment vis-à-vis Russian prisoners of war.
Did they execute Russian servicemen?
This is what videos circulating on social networks suggest.
On one of them, we can see Ukrainian soldiers around four men on the ground in military uniform and a white armband around their arm, suggesting that they are Russian soldiers.
Suddenly, a Ukrainian soldier hears one of them breathing.
"
Look, he's still alive
," he exclaims in front of the body lying on the road, stained with puddles of blood.
And then we hear three shots ringing.
And breathing fades.
At the end of the video, we hear a soldier say “
glory to Ukraine
” and another who adds: “
Don't come back to our lands
”.
Several of the men in the images are identifiable.
Investigation
This filmed scene, which
the
New York Times
was able to identify on April 4, was filmed near the village of Dmitrovka, a few kilometers south of
Boutcha, where several hundred civilians were found dead
shortly after the departure of Russian troops.
Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs said to be aware of this video and promises investigations;
According to him, these are “
isolated acts
”.
Other images had already alerted Human Rights Watch
.
A video in particular, on which we could see Ukrainian soldiers shooting in the legs of Russian prisoners of war.
The human rights NGO calls for the opening of an investigation into what looks like abuses committed by Ukrainian forces.
To listen also: Decryption - War crimes in Ukraine: what can international justice do?
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