The head of Ukraine’s diplomacy on Monday called for an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) after a video aired what he says shows a Ukrainian prisoner of war being executed by Russian soldiers.
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These images were also mentioned by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his evening video address, in which he promised to “find the killers”.
“Horrible video of an unarmed Ukrainian POW being executed by Russian forces for simply saying ‘Honour to Ukraine’. Another proof that this war is a genocide,” Dmytro Kouleba commented on Twitter.
“It is imperative that (ICC Prosecutor) Karim Khan immediately launches an investigation into this heinous war crime,” he added. “The perpetrators of these acts must be brought to justice.”
Dmytro Kouleba was referring to an amateur video circulating on social media on Monday showing a soldier standing in a trench smoking a cigarette and being shot with an automatic weapon after saying “Honour to Ukraine.”
Mr Zelensky told him “a video showing the occupiers brutally killing a soldier who bravely said to their face: + Glory to Ukraine! +”.
AFP could not independently verify where and when the footage was taken or whether it showed a Ukrainian prisoner of war, as claimed by Ukrainian officials and social media users.
The phrase “Honour of Ukraine” was repeated on social media in Ukraine on Monday, as several officials called for an investigation and called for justice.
Moscow and Kiev have repeatedly accused each other of killing POWs since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine, but not over Russia’s “crimes of aggression” because Moscow has not signed the Treaty of Rome establishing the court.