Bound soldiers shot at: Zelenskyj adviser condemns alleged Ukrainian war crimes
Created: 03/28/2022, 22:33
Kharkiv, marked by the Ukraine war.
An alleged Ukrainian war crime has now occurred near the city of over a million inhabitants.
© Felipe Dana/AP/dpa (archive photo)
Soldiers lie on the ground and are shot at.
A video is said to show an alleged Ukrainian war crime.
Selenskyj's adviser reacts promptly.
Kharkiv - In the Ukraine war there is always talk of war crimes.
So violations of international law.
This means, for example, the intentional killing or injury of people and the mistreatment of prisoners of war.
In the escalating Ukraine conflict, these allegations have been directed primarily at Russia over the past 32 days of the war.
Russian troops are targeting civilians, Ukraine said.
However, a video has now surfaced showing an alleged Ukrainian war crime.
War in Ukraine: Shackled soldiers shot at - Video shows war crimes
A six-minute clip is circulating on Telegram, which is said to show Russian soldiers being mistreated by Ukrainian soldiers.
The video shows around ten men who are recognizable as Russian soldiers.
Around 20 men, presumably Ukrainians, stand opposite them.
The suspected Russian soldiers are tied up and interrogated by the armed men.
At the beginning of the video, six men are lying on the ground, at least two of them are bleeding from their legs.
Then three more men are taken out of a van.
The suspected Ukrainian men then shoot at the three men.
The shots go in the leg, possibly so that the prisoners can no longer walk.
Another man appears to surrender and gets on his knees - but is still shot in the leg.
The video is available to the editors.
However, we refrain from publishing it here.
Excerpt from the video.
A man lies on the ground next to armed soldiers.
© fkn
Ukraine-News: War crimes near Kharkiv?
Zelenskyj adviser condemns video
The video appears to be real, but we were initially unable to verify it.
However, several media have independently verified it.
As the
picture
reports, it is said to have been taken in Mala Rohan, about 20 kilometers south-east of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
According to Ukrainian sources, Mala Rohan was recaptured by Ukrainian troops over the weekend.
Apparently, the far-right ultranationalists of the Azov battalion were also involved.
They are considered particularly brutal.
The video made waves on social media.
Ukraine was asked to comment on the scenes.
Oleksiy Arestovych,
an adviser to the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, commented on the alleged war crimes at the weekend.
He condemned the actions of the men in the video and promised rapid clarification.
Arestovych, in an interview with Russian activist Mark Feygin published on YouTube, said the video showed “absolutely unacceptable behavior.
This is a war crime."
Those responsible would be severely punished.
The Ukrainian government takes the war crimes allegations "very seriously".
"We do not mistreat prisoners of war, we are a European army."
Ukraine-News: United Nations investigates war crimes
Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Office has documented clear signs of Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
However, a final assessment has not yet been possible, said the head of the Ukraine office, Matilda Bogner, on Friday.
Reports are being examined that the Russian military has shot people fleeing in cars or at demonstrations.
Among other things, employees had also noticed the use of cluster munitions.
The office also examines reports of the use of phosphorous munitions.
Such incendiary bombs are ignited by contact with oxygen and cause devastating damage.
The use of phosphorus bombs is prohibited.
However, the UN is also examining possible war crimes on the Ukrainian side.
"We have seen videos from both sides of Ukrainian POWs kidnapped by the Russian side and Russian POWs kidnapped by the Ukrainian side," said Bogner at a briefing on Monday.
As far as the current video from eastern Ukraine is concerned, the investigations were ongoing.
The United Nations is still "reviewing all the material," Bogner said Monday, adding that it raises "serious concerns."
"We urge authorities on both sides to fully investigate the allegations made in these videos," Bogner said.
"It is important that these types of videos and any type of abuse are stopped immediately."
(as)