Amidst the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Ukrainian authorities have initiated an investigation to find details of a viral video in which Ukrainian soldiers can be seen allegedly shooting Russian prisoners of war (POW) in the legs. The video, which depicted alleged war crimes committed by Ukrainian soldiers against their Russian counterparts, first appeared on social media platforms on March 27 (local time) before it was shared massively on the internet.
Speaking about the viral video, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief, Ukrainian armed forces, claimed that Russia has been circulating staged videos to discredit Ukraine’s treatment of Russian POWs and asserted that the latest video is another attempt to further the same narrative.
It might give the impression that the Russian military were captured after having been wounded. But that’s not the case. At the end of the video, we can see Ukrainian soldiers shooting all the newly arrived prisoners through their legs.#WarCrimes pic.twitter.com/o7B7M1p2pG
— Maria Dubovikova (@politblogme) March 27, 2022
On the contrary, Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, reminded everyone that abusing POWs constitues war crimes. He said, “I would like to remind all our military, civilians and defence forces that abusing prisoners of war is a war crime,” and added there would be an investigation into the video.
BBC did an in-depth analysis to determine if the video that has gone viral and showcases war crimes allegedly committed by Ukrainian soldiers is authentic or a product of the Russian propaganda. The video shows several captured Russian soldiers on the ground. Some of them had bags over their heads. Wounds were visible on some soldiers’ legs. They were being interrogated by the soldiers who captured them, allegedly Ukrainian soldiers. They asked about their units and activities.
As per a Twitter user, the video might have been filmed in a dairy plant in Malaya Rohan, south-east of Kharkiv. Using geo-locations tools and imagery available in the video and satellite images, BBC was able to match the details of the location. Some of the identifier markers were a tree, a chimney, a window and a white structure, among others.
I am inclined to think that this video was shot from about 49.939219, 36.477301
— erichauerbach (@zcjbrooker) March 27, 2022
If so, it took place in Malaya Rohan, Kharkiv, which was reportedly recently liberated.
I think the shelter to the south was erected more recently than imagery I have seen.
Thoughts? https://t.co/J9MTeROua0 pic.twitter.com/5znAv3BepY
It is unclear when the video was shot as there was no data stamp or metadata. According to BBC, the video could have been shot on March 26, a day before it went viral, as the weather conditions matched the said date.
The language matches the Ukrainian accent
As per BBC’s analysis, the prisoners were being questioned in Russian. The accents of the soldiers interrogating the Russians were in the line of how Ukrainians would speak Russian. Their accent was consistent with the Ukrainians living on the east side of the country.
The uniform of the captors
The soldiers, allegedly of Ukraine, were wearing Ukrainian uniforms with blue armbands. However, there were no conclusive markings like regimental badges or IDs visible in the video.
Lesser blood raised questions
Three men were shot in the video in the legs at close range using an assault rifle. The social media pointed out that it could be staged as there was less blood. However, the screams of the soldiers and evidence of exit wounds point out towards authentication of the video. Notably, some of the doctors BBC talked to pointed out that it was normal for the soldiers not to react vigorously like civilians on being shot.
The violation of the Geneva Conventions
If proven true, the video is damning evidence of a serious violation of the Geneva Conventions, which is a series of treaties that were signed in the aftermath of World War II. These treaties include the humane treatment of POWs. Notably, this is not the first time Ukrainians are facing criticism for the ill-treatment of POWs in their custody since the Russian invaded Ukraine.
#ukraine soldiers calling family of deceased to mock and swear at them. Knowing modern phones – the soldier in question must’ve been alive before they unlocked his device. That’s another POW #warCrime to their repertoire. pic.twitter.com/D55T6Hu0se
— Lukasz Raczylo 🐭 🅨 (@raczylo) March 27, 2022
A few days back, another video had surfaced in which a Ukrainian soldier called a Russian soldier’s family using his phone and mocked them while the family member on the other side was crying with shock.
