Horrifying footage that appears to show Russian troops abusing captured Ukrainian soldiers has emerged online, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In the video obtained by The Sun, a Russian soldier films as he forces four Ukrainian prisoners of war to sing the Soviet national anthem while they march through the woods blindfolded.
When a Ukrainian soldier falls to the ground after being kicked, one of his Russian captors demands that he get up and says, "Looks like we're gonna have to kill him." The Russian fighter then fires his rifle into the ground inches away from the captive's head in a mock execution.
Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, said the footage showed Russian soldiers "mocking Ukrainian prisoners of war."
"According to preliminary information, this happened in the Kharkiv direction, where the Russians are currently trying to conduct offensive actions," he explained.
"The video recorded beatings, humiliation, threats, and an imitation of a shooting. Unfortunately, such treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war is not an exception to the rules, but a common tactic for the occupiers."
The ombudsman added that the video provided "further evidence of violation of international humanitarian law by the Russian Federation" and that he "sent official letters to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations so that they would document the fact of abuse. This will be another addition to the evidence base for the future tribunal over [war] criminals."
"Russia does not observe any rules of warfare and is not at all shy about demonstrating its cruel and inhumane actions. The world must react to hold Russia accountable, otherwise the right of might will defeat the might of right."
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According to the Russian pro-war telegram channel that shared the video, the torture was just "a bit of a laugh about the Ukrainians, a bit of a joke, nothing major" and none of the soldiers in the video were harmed.
The New Voice of Ukraine reports that 54 Ukrainian POWs have been killed by Russian forces and the Prosecutor General's Office has 27 open criminal proceedings for the executions.
