The latest evidence of the genocidal nature of the war in Ukraine has come in the form of a video circulating on social media, which appears to show Russian troops executing a Ukrainian soldier. The footage shows a detained soldier standing in a shallow trench, wearing camouflage and smoking a cigarette. He says “Slava Ukraini!” – or Glory to Ukraine – before multiple shots are heard. The victim slumps to the ground as rounds from automatic weapons repeatedly hit his body. A voice in Russian is heard saying, “Die bi*ch”. The authenticity, date or location of the video, which is of poor quality, could not immediately be verified. Russia’s defence ministry did not comment.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has demanded that the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigate the footage as a war crime. “Horrific video of an unarmed Ukrainian POW executed by Russian forces merely for saying ‘Glory to Ukraine’. Another [piece of] proof this war is genocidal,” he wrote on social media. Kuleba said it was “imperative” that Prosecutor Karim Khan “launches an immediate ICC investigation into this heinous war crime”. Separately, the foreign ministry said in a tweet: “Killing prisoners of war is a war crime. Those responsible for such crimes will face punishment.”
The “Glory to Ukraine” phrase and the response “Heroyam Slava”, or “Glory to the Heroes”, has been a hallmark of post-Soviet Ukraine. But it has taken on special significance as a common greeting in public life since the start of the Russian invasion a year ago. It has also served to rally international support for Ukraine.
Ukraine said it had identified the soldier. “According to preliminary data, the deceased is a serviceman of the 30th separate mechanised brigade – Tymofiy Mykolayovych Shadura,” the military said on Telegram on Tuesday. The soldier had been missing since February 3 amid fighting near the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, it said. Kyiv said the soldier’s remains were located in territory currently controlled by Russian forces. “The final confirmation of his identity can be established after the body is returned,” the military said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the video showed Russian occupiers “brutally killing a warrior”. He added in his evening address on Monday: “I want us all in unity to respond to his words, ‘Glory to the hero. Glory to the heroes. Glory to Ukraine.’ And we will find the murderers. Ukraine will not forget the feat of each and everyone whose lives gave freedom to Ukraine forever.”
Within hours of the video’s emergence, #GloryToUkraine became one of the top trending hashtags on Twitter. Andriy Kostin, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, said on Telegram that Ukraine’s security service registered the shooting as a criminal case under its criminal code that covers violations of war laws and customs. “Even the war has its own laws,” he said, adding prosecutors from his office would lead the case. “There are rules of international law systematically ignored by the Russian criminal regime. But sooner or later, there will be punishment.”
The head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said the man was a Ukrainian prisoner of war and the killing was part of a “deliberate policy of terror” by Russia. Ukrainian and Western authorities say there is evidence of thousands of war crimes committed in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022. Russia has repeatedly denied its forces have committed atrocities or attacked civilians. Evidence of Ukrainian forces committing war crimes during the conflict, including executing surrendering soldiers, has also surfaced.