A video has emerged showing Ukrainian soldiers killing a captured Russian soldier.
The video appears to have been recorded on a road west of Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, where Russian forces were withdrawing.
The BBC studied the footage and came to some conclusions.
Warning: Photos and descriptions may offend some readers.
what’s the video seen**?**
The video shows four people wearing military uniforms lying on the ground, and one of them has their hands tied.
Three of these individuals do not move, while the other, who is alive, makes noises.
Then, in the video, a faceless soldier shoots at the soldier on the ground until he stops moving.
The camera then turns around to record the other soldiers’ reactions.
It is seen that all four people on the ground are wearing military uniforms and there is a pool of blood around them.
Where was the video shot?
We found that the place where the video was taken was a highway near the town of Dmitrivka, west of Kiev.
The crime scene also matched the Google Street View image of the area.
Satellite imagery of the region from March 31 shows traces of blood on the ground and destroyed armored vehicles.
We do not know on what day the video was shot. But we understand that it is afternoon due to the angle of shadows on the road.
The video was first posted online on the morning of March 30, so it must have been recorded on or before March 29.
How do we know the dead soldiers are Russian?
The main thing that makes us think about this is the words spoken in the video.
One of the people standing next to the soldiers on the ground says, “They are defending the Russian army.”
In addition, the video shows armored vehicles with no one inside and the letter V on them.
V is one of the symbols that the Russian army often uses on their battleships.
Are we sure the killers were Ukrainians?
Blue armbands and Ukrainian flags are seen on some of the soldiers in the video. These are signs often used by Ukrainian forces. However, it cannot be seen as definitive proof.
As far as we heard in the video, they all speak Russian. Russian is also a common language in Ukraine.
Halfway through the video, we can clearly see the face of one of the soldiers. This is a bearded man.
After that moment, the faces of several soldiers can be seen more clearly.
We searched one of the faces in a biometric database. In the process, algorithms match the men’s faces with the photos in the database.
The result was a Georgian man with close ties to Ukraine. However, we do not reveal his name as we have not verified his identity.
“Glory to Ukraine,” someone says as the camera turns back to the bearded man. “Victory is your heroes,” he replies.
Although the first person responds with enthusiasm, it is not fully understood what he is saying.
It sounds like he’s saying “Gruziny”. It means “Georgians” in Russian.
The last voice heard in the video is of a man saying “Don’t come to our land again” with an abusive expression.
We have asked the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense about this incident, but we have not yet received a response.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba said that the Ukrainian army acted in accordance with the laws of war, but in case of violations, they would also be investigated.
Answering journalists’ questions at a press conference, Kuleba said, “You don’t know how it feels to see the photos from Buça, talk to the people who escaped, learn that someone you know has been raped for days. You don’t understand how it feels when Russian soldiers rape children.”
“There’s no excuse for violators of the laws of war on both sides of this front, but there are things you can’t understand. I’m sorry.”
We continue to review the video and will update this article as new findings become available.
Correspondents: Paul Myers, Daniele Palumbo, Olga Robinson, Jake Horton, Alex Murray, Shayan Sardarizadeh, Alistair Coleman, Richard Irvine-Brown.
