UKRAINE: Following the release of a video purportedly showing a Ukrainian soldier being beheaded by a Russian serviceman, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged world leaders to take action.
The SBU security service of Ukraine is investigating a video of a man in military gear wearing a yellow armband, which Ukrainian soldiers typically wear as distinguishing markers. The video was deemed “awful” by the Kremlin, but its legitimacy and authorship needed to be investigated.
The Russian military is known to wear white bands on their legs as a form of identification, and the culprit and other persons visible in the video have been overheard speaking Russian. In the brief footage, a man wielding a big knife and a white band around his calf beheads the victim with the yellow wristband.
The official emblem of Ukraine, a trident, is seen on some of the men’s body armour, and its design and colour scheme resembles the ground forces of Ukraine’s insignia.
The Punisher (a Marvel comic book character) skull symbol seen on body armour is worn by warriors on both sides of the present conflict. A green booklet resembling a passport is also discernible on the surface, which resembles the standard-issue Ukrainian military ID in terms of colour, trident emblem, and lettering.
Online rumours claim that the video was shot close to Kreminna, a city in eastern Ukraine. It appears to be from the ongoing war, in which opposing parties have identified themselves with white and yellow armbands.
The video appeared to have been shot in the late spring or summer of the previous year and was shared with 300,000 followers by a pro-Kremlin blogger. However, he later asserted that he was not the original creator. There are no earlier versions that we can discover.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has confirmed the authenticity of a video that claims to show the bodies of two soldiers who have been beheaded. The M113 armoured personnel carrier looks to be damaged, and there are two bodies lying on the ground without heads or hands.
The video was allegedly shot close to Bakhmut, where Ukrainian forces and Russian forces, including the Wagner private military firm, have been engaged in a battle for control of the city. However, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the creator of Wagner, claimed that he had “not found” any proof that the events in the clip had taken place there.
Oleksandr Matsiyevskiy, a Ukrainian prisoner of war, was shot dead by Russian soldiers last month. President Zelensky pledged to track down the offenders, and Nabila Massrali emphasised the EU’s commitment to holding those responsible accountable.
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