Outrage after the release of a video of the beheading of an alleged Ukrainian soldier

A Ukrainian soldier near the Bakhmut front in the east of the country, April 10, 2023 (Illustration image). © LIBKOS / AP

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3 min

Reactions of indignation and astonishment have multiplied since Wednesday, April 12 in the morning after the dissemination on social networks of a video showing what appears to be the beheading of a Ukrainian soldier by Russian soldiers.

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The video, one minute and forty seconds of unbearable images, has been circulating since Tuesday, April 11. On it, a man in camouflage, his face masked, slices the neck of another man in uniform struggling on the ground screaming "it hurts". After a few seconds, the screams stop and a man is heard behind the camera inciting the executioner in Russian to "cut off the head" of the victim. The latter finishes his beheading with a knife, and shows the severed head to the camera. "Fuck it in the bag and send it to the commander," said a voice in Russian. The camera also shows the victim's vest crossed out with the Ukrainian trident and a skull.

The European Union will hold "accountable all perpetrators and accomplices of war crimes" in Ukraine, Nabila Massrali, a spokeswoman for the EU's top diplomat, said after a video surfaced that Kiev said appeared to show a Russian soldier stabbing a Ukrainian prisoner. The UN human rights mission in Ukraine said it was "horrified".

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Monsters" for Kiev, a video to "authenticate" for Moscow

For his part, President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday denounced Russian "monsters". "This video of the execution of a Ukrainian prisoner of war, the world must see. This is a video of Russia as it is," he said in a video posted on Instagram. "It's not an accident ... This happened earlier. That's how it was in Boutcha. Thousands of times," he continued, referring to the suburbs of Kiev, which have become a symbol of atrocities attributed to the Russian army. "Prison sentences to murderers, court to the evil state," he added.

The execution of a Ukrainian captive...
This is a video of Russia as it is. This is a video of 🇷🇺 trying to make just that the new norm.Everyone must react.
Every leader. Don't expect it to be forgotten.
We are not going to forget anything. The defeat of 🇷🇺 terror is necessary. pic.twitter.com/H8Or6HJnYW

— Володимир зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 12, 2023

The European Union has "no information on the veracity of the video," but "if confirmed, it is yet another stark reminder of the inhumane nature of Russian aggression." The Kremlin called for verification of its "authenticity". "These are, of course, horrible images," Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "In the world of fakes we live in, we have to make sure of the authenticity of this video," he added.

The UN also mentions a second video showing "the mutilated bodies, apparently of Ukrainian prisoners of war".

Accusations of mistreatment of prisoners on both sides

Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kiev and Moscow have accused each other of mistreating prisoners amounting to war crimes. In early March, a video showing the alleged execution of a Ukrainian prisoner of war by Russian soldiers caused a shock in Ukraine. In November, the Kremlin was outraged by two videos showing the alleged execution of a dozen Russian servicemen who had just surrendered to Ukrainian forces.

In late March, the UN accused Ukrainian and Russian forces of committing summary executions of prisoners of war during the invasion. Russia also denies, despite corroborating evidence, the summary executions of civilians, particularly in Butcha, near Kiev, a year ago.

► READ ALSO: Ukraine and Russia exchange a hundred prisoners each

(

With AFP)

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