Ukrainian prosecutors have launched an investigation after a video circulated on social media that Moscow said showed a Russian soldier killed after surrendering to Ukrainian forces last weekend.
Ukraine’s human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets claimed that Russia staged the surrender and opened fire first. ready to add that “Shooting back is not a war crime.”November 2022 Russian-Ukrainian war news update.
The video, which was geotagged by CNN, was filmed on the outskirts of Makiivka in the eastern Luhansk region, about 40 kilometers (about 25 miles) northeast of Lyman, but exact details of what happened are yet to be determined. clear .
.
In a statement on Tuesday Ukraine’s Prosecutor’s Office said The Luhansk Regional Prosecutor’s Office will investigate “treason” – actions aimed at gaining the confidence of the enemy in order to gain a military advantage. committed by Russian forces during the surrender which is prohibited under international human law.
“According to the results of the media review It is known that in the village of Makiivka, Luhansk region, Russian soldiers, imitating the surrender of the Ukrainian army, opened fire on the Ukrainian defenders. Such acts are prohibited under international humanitarian law,” the statement said.
During the pre-trial investigation Measures will be taken to determine the full circumstances of this event. as well as to provide a legal assessment of all participants.
On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia would do “every means” to find those responsible. He added that they would be “punished”.
Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights comment on the events on SundayAlleging that the Russians staged their surrender and opened fire first. ready to add that “Retaliation shooting is not a war crime.”
What the video will show:
The edited video Claiming to show captured Russian soldiers in a surrender display Many men lie face down on the ground with their hands raised above their heads. Several soldiers emerged from the building one by one and lay down beside them in the field.
Obviously, a voice ordered to surrender shouted: “Come out one by one, which officer are you? Has everyone come out yet? Come out!”
After about 10 soldiers fell to the ground. Another soldier emerged from the same building and appeared to open fire in the direction of the surrendering Ukrainian soldiers.
A short shot was heard. before the video clip ends abruptly.
The second clip was taken after a drone over the same location. It shows the corpse of the same Russian soldier on the battlefield. Which is just a few meters away from where they lie in the first clip.
CNN couldn’t confirm exactly what happened in the first video clip. And it’s unclear what happened in the amount of time that elapsed between the first clip and the drone footage.
CNN’s Olga Voitovych and Radina Gigova contributed reporting to this post.
