The video, which went viral on social media, featuring a Ukrainian soldierwho was allegedly a prisoner of war and to executed by firing squad after shouting “Glory to Ukraine”, “looks authentic”his High Commission announced today UN for Human Rights.

“We have become aware of this video circulating on social media showing a Ukrainian soldier out of combat allegedly executed by the Russian armed forces. Based on a preliminary examination, we believe the video appears to be authentic,” a UNHCR spokesman told AFP.

In this approximately twelve-second video, a man in military uniform, but unarmed, can be seen smoking a cigarette. Another man, not seen in the video, says in what appears to be Russian to a colleague: “take the video.”

“Glory to Ukraine!”, the Ukrainian responds and immediately comes under fire. The man behind the camera is then heard saying: “Die, dog.”

The UNHCR recalls that it has “documented numerous violations of international humanitarian law against prisoners of war, including extrajudicial executions of Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war”.

“Impartial and effective investigations must be conducted into all these charges and those responsible must be held accountable,” the UNHCR representative underlined.

AFP was unable to independently verify where or when this video was taken, or whether it shows, as Ukrainian officials say, a prisoner of war being the victim of a war crime.

This video went viral on social media on Monday, with many posts, photos and sketches paying tribute to this soldier, his courage and patriotism.

The Ukrainian army vowed yesterday, Tuesday, to avenge the death of its soldier.

“According to the preliminary data, the person killed is the soldier of the 30th motorized brigade Timofii Mykolaivych Sandura,” the ground forces of Ukraine clarified in their post on Telegram yesterday.

Brigade spokesman Anatoly Yavorsky told AFP the soldier, who was 41 and had been recruited in December, was from the Zhytomyr region in central-western Ukraine.

The Ukrainian prisoner has already become an icon in Ukraine, with artistic depictions of him also depicting him as a haloed martyr, while contrasting his treatment with that of Russian prisoners by Ukrainian forces.

Caution! Hard images in the video

Russian criminals shoot Ukrainian POW. The last words of the Ukrainian warrior were: Слава України! Slava Ukraini (Glory to #Ukraine)

This is how the Russians treat 🇺🇦 POWs.

And this is how Ukrainians treat Russian prisoners of war.

We only can say: Heróyam slava pic.twitter.com/AYKbyzOMJk

— Marta Llopis 🇪🇸🇺🇦 (@LlopisMarta95) March 6, 2023

The prisoner, according to the Ukrainian army, was Timofii Sandura, whose fate has been unknown since February 3. According to a Facebook post by the 30th Motorized Brigade, the victim was last seen near the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, where bloody fighting has been raging for the past few months. “At this moment the body of our soldier is in the temporarily occupied territories,” the statement said.

Formal confirmation will be made when his body is returned from the occupied territories, the brigade, which is part of the Ground Forces of Ukraine, said in a statement.

“We will find the killers” pledged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, requesting the investigation of the case by the International Criminal Court.

pic.twitter.com/VE9a8lrm0j

— Sérgio Ribeiro (@sergiobrunido) March 6, 2023

Yesterday, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, commented on Twitter that the video of the execution of the unarmed prisoner was “further proof that it is for an act of genocide” and called for an “immediate investigation” by the International Criminal Court.

Yesterday morning the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andrii Kostin announced via Telegram that a criminal investigation has already begun.

His sister Santoura told the BBC: “My brother would certainly be able to stand up to the Russians like that. He never hid the truth in his life, and he certainly wouldn’t do it in front of the enemy.”

Western media were unable to confirm the authenticity, date or location the video was taken.

US on the video of the execution of the Ukrainian soldier: Russia should be ashamed

The United States is aware of “heartbreaking” images showing an unarmed Ukrainian soldier killed in Ukraine, according to a video posted on social media, the State Department said today, adding that Russia should be ashamed for violating basic rules of war.

State Department spokesman Ned Price told a regular press briefing that the US was “not naive” to believe Russia would admit to the killing, but said this was not the first evidence of apparent atrocities by Russian forces. .

The Ukrainian military said earlier today that it had identified the soldier, who was allegedly shot by “Russian intruders,” according to a 12-second video posted on social media. The army hailed the soldier as a hero, saying his death must be avenged.