Ukraine decries videoed beheadings as committed by Russian 'beasts'

Friday, April 14, 2023

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on recently-surfaced videos allegedly showing the beheading of Ukrainian soldiers by Russian soldiers: "We are not going to forget anything. Neither are we going to forgive the murderers. There will be legal responsibility for everything. The defeat of terror is necessary".

Zelenskyy asked the International Criminal Court to investigate.

The videos were circulated on social media and graphically show Ukrainian service members being beheaded while still alive.

"It's absurd that Russia, which is worse than ISIS, is presiding over the UNSC [United Nations Security Council]," Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister, said. "Russian terrorists must be kicked out of Ukraine and the UN and be held accountable for their crimes."

Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told press: "Of course, these are terrible shots." ^{((ru))Russian language: ‍Безусловно, это ужасные кадры.} He continued: "First of all, in the world of fakes that we live in, we need to check the veracity of this footage [...] Then it could be a pretext to check whether or not this is true, whether it happened, and if it did, where and by whom." ^{((ru))Russian language: ‍Прежде всего в мире фейков, в котором мы живем, нужно проверить достоверность этой съемки [...] А затем, конечно, это может стать поводом для того, чтобы проверить, так это или не так.}

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres was "horrified" by the videos, according to a spokesperson, and said those responsible must be held accountable.

The Institute for the Study of War said on Monday the Wagner Group, a private military company run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, was "continuing to commit war crimes by beheading Ukrainian servicemen in Bakhmut". It also claimed there have been similar incidents during the conflict.

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Sources

Vasco Cotovio, Andrew Carey, Josh Pennington, Yulia Kesaieva. "Zelensky slams 'beasts' who purportedly beheaded Ukrainian soldiers after video emerges" — CNN, April 12, 2023
Max Hunder, Dan Peleschuk. "Kyiv compares Russia to Islamic State after beheading video" — Reuters, April 12, 2023
""Нужно проверить достоверность этих ужасных кадров". Кремль прокомментировал видео казни украинского военного" — TV8 (Moldovan TV channel), April 12, 2023 (Russian)
Betul Yuruk. "UN chief 'horrified' by video showing Ukrainian prisoner of war being beheaded" — Anadolu Agency, April 12, 2023

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