The Ukrainian military says it has identified one of its soldiers who appears to be executed by Russian troops in a video that has circulated on social media, prompting calls from Kyiv for a war crimes investigation.
Ukraine's 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade said in a statement on Telegram on March 7 that it has identified the man, based on preliminary data, as Tymofiy Mykolayovych Shadura, one of its servicemen.
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"Timofiy Shadura has been listed as missing since February 3, 2023, amid hostilities in the Bakhmut area," the statement said.
"Currently, the body of our serviceman is in the temporarily occupied territory. The final confirmation of the person will be established after the return of the body and the relevant examinations," the statement said.
The command of the 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade "expressed its sincere condolences to his relatives and friends. Revenge will be inevitable," the statement said.
In the video, a man who appears to be a soldier who has been taken prisoner can be see standing in a shallow trench and smoking a cigarette. He takes a last drag and says, “Glory to Ukraine,” before apparently being shot with automatic gunfire.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted on March 6 that the “horrific” video was more “proof this war is genocidal” and urged the International Criminal Court to open an immediate investigation into what he called "this heinous war crime."
"Perpetrators must face justice," Kuleba said.
Kuleba's call was echoed by Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian parliament's human rights commissioner, who wrote on Telegram, “The shooting of a captured Ukrainian serviceman is a violation of the Geneva Conventions.”
Ukraine's prosecutor-general, Andriy Kostin, and the Security Service of Ukraine have opened an investigation into the incident.
The parliamentary faction of Ukraine's ruling Servant of the People party said it will file a request with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to posthumously award Shadura the title of Hero of Ukraine.
According to the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War, signed by Russia, POWs must be guaranteed life and humane conditions of detention. Executions or ill-treatment of prisoners of war are considered war crimes.