Video clips that are currently circulating on social media are said to show what happens before and after a group of Russian soldiers are shot dead at close range.
However, exactly what has happened is unclear.
In one of the clips, several Russian soldiers can be seen leaving a building and then lying down on their stomachs to show that they are giving up.
Suddenly, an armed person comes out of the building and opens fire.
Shortly afterwards, the clip breaks.
Aerial photos taken later show all Russian soldiers dead on the ground.
- It seems that most of them have been shot in the head, says Rohini Haar, an adviser to the organization Doctors for Human Rights, to The New York Times, which has analyzed the video material.
Possible war crime
Jann Kleffner, professor of international law at the Norwegian Defense Academy, emphasizes that an impartial investigation of the incident is required.
Having said that, he points to two possible scenarios in which a war crime has been committed.
The first scenario is based on Ukraine's explanation: that the Russian soldier first pretended to surrender and then started shooting sharply.
- Then a war crime has been committed from the Russian side.
It certainly does not give the right to self-defense against the Russian soldiers who are already lying on the ground, he continues.
- Then we are talking about another scenario, namely that the Russian soldiers have been executed by Ukrainian forces.
Executing prisoners of war is clearly prohibited and also a war crime.