JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
Kyiv has appealed to the International Criminal Court to investigate the “horrific” video that appears to Russian soldiers executing an unarmed Ukrainian prisoner of war (POW) for saying “Glory to Ukraine”.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the footage, which went viral on Monday, was “yet more evidence that this war is genocidal.”
He said it was "imperative" that International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan "launches an immediate ICC investigation into this heinous war crime.”
He added: "Perpetrators must face justice.”
The fact that video appears to show the unarmed Ukrainian soldier being cut down by automatic weapon fire for saying "Slava Ukraini" (Glory to Ukraine) has quickly trended on social media where it has become the latest most powerful symbols of Ukrainian resistance to Moscow’s ongoing aggression.
During his daily address on Monday evening, President Zelensky, said: “In Ukraine, we will always hear: ‘Glory to Ukraine!’. And millions will always respond: ‘Glory to the Heroes!’. It will always be like that. Ukraine will never forget the deeds of each and every one who has given their life for the freedom of Ukraine.”
Ukraine - What Everyone Wants From a Peace Deal?
“Today, a video has emerged of the occupiers brutally killing a warrior who bravely said to their faces: ‘Glory to Ukraine!"’ I want us all to respond to his words together, in unity: ‘Glory to the Hero! Glory to the Heroes! Glory to Ukraine!”.
He added: “And we will find the murderers.”
Ukraine has accused members of Russian forces of, not only participating in an unprovoked military invasion of a sovereign state, but also for carrying out of hundreds of individual cases of murder, rape and assault, against both members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and Ukraine’s civilian population.
The worst single case of the slaying of Ukrainian personnel was recorded on Aug. 7 last year, when more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed following explosions in a facility holding soldiers captured by Russian forces during the Siege of Mariupol. Kyiv officials later branded this as pre-fabricated mass murder.
Kremlin spokesmen at the time denied responsibility and claimed Ukrainian artillery shelled the detention site to kill eyewitnesses with knowledge of alleged Ukrainian government misdeeds. Russian state media since Kremlin invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 22 has claimed Russian troops observe all rules of war – a claim widely rubbished over the next twelve months by independent observers and media.
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
