March 8, 2023, 7:28 AM
March 8, 2023, 7:28 AM
In Ukraine, emotions are running high after the dissemination of a video in which a Ukrainian prisoner of war shot by his Russian captors. The authenticity of the recording and the identity of the soldier have been confirmed by kyiv, which promises to punish this new violation of international law on its soil. Moscow talks about assembly.
His name was Tymofiy Mykolayovych Shadura. He was 42 years old and was born in the Donetsk province, where he defended the territorial integrity of his country, Ukraine, within the 30th mechanized brigade.
Disappeared since February 2, his face is now known to millions of Ukrainians who watched in horror as he was brutally executed on video by Russian soldiers while he was their prisoner of war, reports our Kiev correspondent Emmanuelle Chaze.
With an emaciated face and a cigarette in his mouth, Timofey Shadura refused to submit to his executioners and pronounced “Slava Ukraini”, “Glory to Ukraine”, before being shot several times, in clear violation of international law, which establishes that the physical integrity and fundamental rights of prisoners must be respected. of war.
During the 12 second duration of the video, it shows a man in military uniform, but unarmed, smoking a cigarette. Another man, out of shot, says in Russian “film it.” Machine gun bursts hit him immediately. The man behind the camera exclaims, “Die, you bastard!”
The video “appears to be authentic”, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights declared on Wednesday. “We are aware of this video posted on social media showing a hors d’oeuvre Ukrainian soldier apparently executed by Russian armed forces. Based on preliminary examination, we believe the video appears to be authentic,” a spokeswoman for the office said.
“Vengeance for our hero will be inevitable“, promised the Army, which assured that the deceased had been missing since February 3, when he was fighting near the city of Bakhmut, in the Ukrainian region of Donbas (east).
This city is the scene of a fierce battle between the forces of kyiv and those of Moscow, the longest since the Russian invasion of February 24, 2022.
More than 71,000 open investigations
President Volodimir Zelensky vowed on Monday to “find the murderers” while Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called for an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into the case.
The crime adds to an already long list of atrocities committed in Ukraine by the occupying forces, such as summary executions of soldiers and civilians, rape, deportation and torture. The prosecution has already opened more than 71,000 investigations against the Russian aggressor.
Russian authorities have not commented on the video, but the head of the Wagner paramilitary group, a frontline paramilitary organization in Bakhmuth, questioned its veracity.
“Is there any confirmation that this video is not a montage, Is there any proof of Wagner’s involvement?” he commented on Telegram.
