A video appeared on the network about the death of Russian prisoners of war near Kiev. What is known
The BBC has analyzed video footage that appears to show Ukrainian civilians killing a captured soldier. The video was filmed on one of the roads west of Kyiv, along which the Russian army was retreating.
Carefully! Further frames and detailswhich may shock.
What to show on video?
On the video recordings, four people are on the ground at the scheduled time. One of them has his hands covered behind his back.
Three of them belong without movement, but one looks alive, barely moving, wheezing is heard.
Then one of the soldiers (his face remains off-screen) shoots this man several times until he stops moving. After that, we see abandoned armored vehicles and other soldiers.
All the soil lying on the ground in military storage uniforms, pools of blood.
You can see only one of them – the rest are available below.
Where and when was this video filmed?
It happened on the main road near the village of Dmitrovka, west of Kyiv. This road connects with Dmitrovka with Irpen and Bucha. The situation captured on the video corresponds to the Google Street View picture of the same section of the road.
On a satellite image of this road, taken on March 31, spots similar to blood stains were found on the ground, and the same armored vehicles as in the video.
We do not have complete confidence in the relative accuracy of the observation, but we know for sure that the survey was carried out in the afternoon – about this property of shadows on the road.
The first version of this video we discovered on social networks appeared there on the morning of March 30, that is, the shooting itself was carried out on the afternoon of March 29 or earlier.
How do we know that the dead soldiers are Russian citizens?
This can be judged mainly by what is said during filming. One of the soldiers standing over us says: “Here they are, the defenders of the Russian army.”
In addition, the frames show abandoned armored vehicles with the letters V painted on the sides – this is a characteristic sign representing Russian equipment in Ukraine.
In addition, some people lying on the ground have white armbands on their sleeves, which are regulated by the military as markings in some regions of Ukraine. They also sometimes use red or orange bands. In addition, there were citizens who forced the world population to wear white armbands in some regions of Ukraine.
Is there any certainty that the Ukrainian police are involved in this?
In the near future, some of the military specific blue armbands and chevrons with the Ukrainian flag will be organized, which are distinguished by the characteristic characteristic badge of the forces of Ukraine. Although, of course, this cannot be unambiguous evidence of their belonging.
In the video, the soldiers speak Russian, but there are many Russian-speaking people in Ukraine.
About halfway through the video, you can clearly see the face with the beard. Clearly the seizure is also the faces of more pairs of military men.
Using a computer program, we compared the biometric data of the bearded soldier with the data found in the access operation, and came to the conclusion that it is very likely a citizen of Georgia with close ties to Ukraine. However, we did not give his name, because we have not yet made sure that it was him.
At the check of the word “Glory to Ukraine”, a man with a beard answers “Glory to the Heroes!”
Ukraine’s comment
Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, commented for the BBC on New York Times accusations that the newspaper managed to find a successful video link where Ukrainians kill Russian soldiers.
“Ukraine belongs to international democracies, it most closely observes international law, including the provisions of the Geneva Commitment to Commitment to Prisoners of War,” Podolyak said.
“Meanwhile, it is necessary to establish the following. The complete and obvious refusal of the Russian army from the rules of the customs of war, the deliberate humiliation and massacres of Ukrainian citizens of the world, absolute temporary documentary evidence, a natural emotional background both in Ukrainian society and in the Ukrainian armed forces. Therefore, in “Firstly, in any particular case, a clear investigation is required until the motives and circumstances are clarified. And secondly, Russia probably needs to move away from anti-Ukrainian genocidal propaganda and return its army to an understanding of the same rules and customs of war.”
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