The shocking video of the brutal murder appeared on Russian pro-war Telegram channels on the evening of April 11. It was also posted on Twitter by Ukrainian blogger Ihor Lachenkov.
At first, we hear screams on the video, then images of a man being held by Russian troops shouting that he is in pain. After that, the occupiers cut off his head with a knife. He was probably still alive at the time of execution.
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The Russians accompany their actions with the words: "We are working, brothers. Break the spine. Haven't you ever cut off a head before?" They also show a bulletproof vest, which probably belonged to the Ukrainian soldier, to the camera.
The video has a lot of greenery, so it was more than likely actually filmed last year - in the summer or early autumn.
On March 12, President Zelensky commented on the video and called for international leaders to react:
"There is something that no one in the world can ignore: how easily these animals kill. This video... of the execution of a Ukrainian prisoner... The world must see it. It is a video of Russia as it is. What kind of creatures they are. There are no people for them. A son, a brother, a husband... Someone's child," the President said.
"It is not an accident. It is not an episode. It’s happened before. It happened in Bucha — thousands of times. Everyone must respond — every leader. Do not wait for it to be forgotten, for time to pass. We are not going to forget anything. We won’t forgive the killers. There will be legal responsibility for everything. We need to defeat terror," Zelensky added.
ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, July 2, 2024
CNN has published another video apparently showing the execution of Ukrainian soldiers by the Russian occupiers. It is reported that, unlike the video of the murder of the Ukrainian defender, which was probably filmed last summer, this other recording appears to have been made relatively recently.
In it, representatives of the Wagner PMC boast of having destroyed an armored vehicle of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and show the bodies of two Ukrainian soldiers with their heads and arms cut off.
Russian propaganda outlets report that the video was filmed in the area of Bakhmut, where fierce fighting continues to take place.
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