Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to “find the killers” involved in a video in which he said a Ukrainian soldier was executed by Russian troops, as authorities in Kiev fully described the incident as a war crime. had condemned
The video purportedly shows an unarmed soldier in Russian captivity wearing Ukrainian combat fatigues and smoking a cigarette, near what appears to be a combat position.
The man is then shown taking a cigarette out of his mouth, blowing smoke and saying “Slava Ukrainian (Glory to Ukraine)” while off-camera fighters fire several shots at him.
The 30th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Army on Tuesday named the soldier as Timofey Mykolaivych Shadura.
The brigade said in a Facebook post that Shadura was part of the contingent and had been missing since February 3 after fighting near the eastern city of Bakhmut as fighting intensified for control of eastern Donetsk region.
“Currently, the body of our attendant is temporarily in the occupied area. The final confirmation of his identity will be done after the body is returned and relevant investigations are conducted,” the brigade’s post added.
Zelensky condemned the video, saying it showed “how the occupiers brutally killed a warrior.”
“Today, a video was released showing how the occupiers brutally killed a warrior who bravely said to their faces: ‘Glory to Ukraine,'” Zalensky said in his late-night address on Monday. . “I want us all to respond to his words in unison: ‘Glory to the hero. The glory of heroes. The Glory of Ukraine.”
“We will find the killers,” he added.
CNN has not been able to independently confirm who the executed soldier is, where he was shot and who shot him. CNN has reached out to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry for more details on the incident and the Russian Defense Ministry for a response. Russia has consistently denied allegations that its troops committed war crimes during its invasion, despite evidence to the contrary.
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