Russian thugs allegedly beheaded a Ukrainian prisoner of war before placing his head on the hood of a military vehicle in what Kyiv has described as proof of Vladimir Putin’s ”total contempt for international law”.
Andrii Kostin, Prosecutor General with the Ukrainian Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, was speaking on a sickening blurred image – which Express.co.uk has not been able to verify.
In a post on the X, Mr Kostin said the man’s identity had been confirmed – but would not be released yet because “procedures are underway for final confirmation of his data”.
Mr Kostin claimed Russian commanders had given orders “not to capture Ukrainian servicemen, but instead to kill them with inhuman cruelty – by beheading”.
He added: “We also identified Russian commanders potentially responsible for the beheading of the Ukrainian defender.
“This fact is yet more proof that total contempt for international law and general morality is the state policy of the terrorist country Russia.
“Every world leader who shakes Vladimir Putin‘s hand should realise that he is shaking the hand of a person who tolerates barbaric killings.”
Putin is currently on a tour of the Far East, where he met North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un yesterday.
Russia has faced multiple accusations of war crimes since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, including the execution of captive Ukrainian soldiers.
Earlier this month, Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine‘s Ombudsman urged the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to probe videos depicting beatings, humiliation, and threats of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian soldiers in the Kharkov region.
He said: “Unfortunately, such treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war is not an exception to the rules, but a common tactic for the occupiers.”
Lubinets previously appealed to both the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to investigate other crimes committed against Ukrainian prisoners of war, such as the execution of at least five POWs in Avdiivka in February.
As of March 2024, Ukraine‘s Prosecutor General’s Office collected has collated pretrial information on more 128,000 victims of war crimes.