The grisly video of an alleged beheading of a Ukrainian soldier by Russian forces has caused consternation and sparked comparisons with the Islamic State terrorist groupwhile President Zelensky has called for a tougher international reaction against Russia.
In the video, which has not yet been verified but circulated on pro-war Russian social media before drawing a harsh response from the Ukrainian government and the European Union, a Russian soldier immobilizes a squirming Ukrainian serviceman. and scream. “Cut it”says someone in Russian behind the camera. “It breaks his spine. Haven’t you cut off a head before? Finish the job”, continues the alleged Russian military. The Russian then pulls out a knife and cuts the Ukrainian man’s neck. Blood spurts as the Ukrainian lets out a horrible scream and then stops moving.
At the end of the minute and a half recording, the voice is heard telling the soldier to show the severed head to the camera and place it in a bag to “send it to the commander”. A voice applauds the soldier holding the man’s head.
The Ukrainian authorities have reacted by comparing Russia to the Islamic State. President Volodimir Zelensky has described the Russians as “beasts”. “This is a video of Russia as it is,” stressed the head of government, who said that Russia was trying to make these murders a “new norm.” He said that “everyone, every leader must react” and warned that this will not be forgotten. “The defeat of Russian terror is necessary”.
“We will find those inhumans,” said the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Vasyl Malyuk, in statements in an official note published on his Telegram channel. Malyuk promises to do everything possible to find the perpetrators of the beheading and “make them pay for what they have done.”
Ukrainian officials suggest that the video release may be aimed at intimidating citizens as the Russians sought to advance further on the battlefield.
“The enemy wants to weaken us,” First Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malya said Wednesday. “All he will get in return is our fury and the complete defeat of the occupiers, sentences for the murderers and a court for the aggressor state,” she added.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba assured on his Twitter account that Russia “It’s worse than the Islamic State.” He regretted that at the moment the country “is chairing the United Nations Security Council. Russian terrorists must be expelled from Ukraine and from the UN and must be held accountable for their crimes.”
a second video
The Kremlin called the video terrible but warned that its authenticity must first be established. CNN claims to have seen another video posted on a pro-Russian social media channel on April 8, allegedly filmed by Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group, which appears to show the headless corpses of two Ukrainian soldiers lying on the ground next to a destroyed military vehicle. Russian social media accounts say the video was filmed near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
Earlier this spring, another video showed a captured Ukrainian soldier standing unarmed and being shot repeatedly by Russian troops in reaction to saying “Glory to Ukraine.” Kyiv has also been accused of shooting Russian captives. after video surfaced in which Russian soldiers apparently surrendered before one of them opened fire, with all allegedly ending up dead.
The EU is committed to holding those responsible for war crimes in Ukraine to account. Community spokesperson Nabila Massrali warned that “if confirmed, this is yet another brutal reminder of the inhumane nature of Russian aggression.”
The President of the European Council, charles michel, He stated that he was “mortified by an appalling video showing the killing of a Ukrainian prisoner of war by a Russian soldier.” He stressed that accountability and justice must prevail on terror and impunity and that the EU will do everything possible to ensure that. “The EU will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
For his part, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki warned that “it is not a manic impulse” but that Putin has been building his “evil empire” for the past two decades. “The evil empire has been reborn in the East. Russian barbarians threaten not only Ukraine. They threaten the whole of Europe and the whole free world”.
Russia tests an intercontinental missile
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry has reported on a successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. It was launched from the Kapustin Yar test site in Astrakhan, Russia, and hit a target at a test site in Kazakhstan, Russia’s formal ally.
“This launch made it possible to confirm the accuracy of the design and technical solutions used in the development of new strategic missile systems,” the ministry said.
Russia has also tightened laws around military mobilization, making it harder for men to avoid or flee from it abroad. Putin repeatedly promised that only professional soldiers would be used in Ukraine, as he wanted the impact of the war to be felt as little as possible among the population in exchange for the support of public opinion. But the prolongation of the conflict and military setbacks forced him to order a partial mobilization last fall.
Since then, several hundred thousand men have fled to neighboring countries, but they may find it more difficult to do so now. Despite several attempts to burn down military recruitment centers and limited instances of protest, there has yet to be a mass protest against the Russian president-turned-czar’s war of conquest.
Discussion about this post