The video of the brutal execution of a Ukrainian soldier: “Another proof that this war is genocidal”

A video of the brutal execution of a Ukrainian soldier in the hands of Russian troops was released in the last hours on social networks, unleashing the indignation and the claim authorities in kyiv to investigate war crimes.

In the image you see an unarmed man smoking without putting up a fight in a wooded area. An off-camera voice asks to be recorded, to which the prisoner responds: “Glory to Ukraine”. Those were his last words before being shot by several bursts of Russian gunfire.

“Ghastly video of an unarmed Ukrainian prisoner of war executed by Russian forces simply for saying ‘Glory to Ukraine’. Another proof that this war is genocidal”, condemned the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba.

“It is imperative that (prosecutor) Karim Khan launch an immediate investigation by the International Criminal Court into this heinous war crime. The perpetrators must face justice,” said the foreign minister.

For his part, Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President, Volodimir Zelensky, exclaimed: “War crimes are cultivated in Russia. And they are whitewashed by their propaganda and myths about ‘Nazis’. The murder of a captured man is another example of this. And it is also an example of their national insignificance and weakness.”

He also stressed that “there will be a reckoning for every such war crime”. “No one will be able to hide from it,” added the head of the President’s Office.

Ukraine seeks to create a special court to try the Russian leadership.

The ICC launched its own investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine, thanks to Kiev accepting its jurisdiction, although neither Ukraine nor Russia are members of the court, created in 2002.

Due to a change in the Rome Statutewhich determines the operation of the court, it can prosecute the crime of aggression since 2018, but not in the case of non-member countries, such as Russia.

For its part, the European Commission plans to set up the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression (ICPA), which seeks to preserve the evidence and prepare its analysis for a possible trial of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, for next summer. , while judicial coordination with the United States is expanded.

Spokesman Christian Wigand explained on Monday that, following the signing this weekend of a modified agreement on the role of the ICPA by the seven partners of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), Eurojust “will now proceed with the technical implementation of the center and We hope that the first components will be ready in the coming months, for summer”.

(With information from AFP and EFE)

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