Ukraine investigates Russian prisoner’s claim of torture after grieving video – World News

WARNING: CONTENT IGNORE Ukraine is investigating after unverified footage was shared online showing Russian troops being tortured in the eastern suburbs of Kharkiv

Ukrainian officials have opened an investigation into allegations that Russian prisoners of war were tortured.

A morbid video widely shared on social media shows a senior commander admitting to “war crimes”.

At least three Russian soldiers appeared to have been shot in the leg after being detained, and some had white bags on their heads.

According to reports, in the grieving video, a person is unconscious or dead.

The Ukrainians appear to be puzzling these men to identify the Russian officers.

The “torture” is said to have taken place in the village of Olkhovka (Vilkhivka) on the eastern outskirts of Kharkiv, on Friday.

The footage has caused outrage in Russia, but Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to the Ukrainian president to Volodymyr Zelensky, also acknowledged that the “massacre” was a “war crime” and promised a full investigation.

“I can say that we have an extremely strict attitude towards such cases,” he said, referring to the footage.

“There will be an investigation. I have said many times officially that we do not torture prisoners.”

Ukraine’s military is “European” and while “always have a surplus”, a

“Slaughtering prisoners of war is a violation of the military’s honor code and is a war crime.”

He vowed: “There will be a very serious investigation, and the guilty, if discovered, will be punished.”

He said that “every member of the defense force will be told this is absolutely unacceptable behaviour, it is a war crime”.

He added: “More precisely, what is happening there has the character of a war crime, a crime that can only be tried by a court of law, with no statute of limitations, no amnesty under the law. Ukrainian or international law.”

Russia has opened a separate criminal investigation into the “extreme cruelty” of Ukrainian “nationalists” in the treatment of detainees in the Russian military.

“Video footage has appeared on the Internet in which Ukrainian nationalists treat prisoners with extreme cruelty,” a statement from the Russian Investigative Committee said.

“A video went viral online showing how captured soldiers were shot in the leg without medical assistance.

“According to some reports, illegal actions took place at a base of Ukrainian nationalists in the Kharkiv region.”

Ukraine’s military commander-in-chief Valeriy Zaluzhniy did not specifically deny the authenticity of these videos, but stated that Russia “produces and shares videos featuring inhumane treatment of alleged ‘Russian prisoners’.” as ‘Ukrainian soldiers’ in order to discredit the Ukrainian defense forces.

He stressed that “service members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other legitimate military forces strictly adhere to the rules of international humanitarian law.

“I urge you to take into account the realities of psychological and informational warfare and only trust official sources.”