Moscow investigates Ukrainian video showing shooting of wounded Russian soldier
MOSCOW, July 16 (Reuters) -Russian investigators said on Tuesday they were looking into the shooting of a wounded Russian soldier by Ukrainian forces in a video published online by Ukraine's Azov Brigade.
In the graphic footage, posted on YouTube and on the brigade's social media channels on Monday, an Azov soldier is seen clearing a Russian trench and repeatedly shooting what appears to be a wounded Russian soldier leaning prone against a trench wall. He had no visible weapon in his hands when he was shot.
While Reuters was able to verify the location of the video, Reuters was not able to verify the date on which it was filmed or the identity of the wounded Russian soldier.
Both Ukraine and Russia are signatories to the Geneva Conventions which establish international legal standards for conduct of armed conflict and stipulate that wounded combatants must not be killed or tortured and should receive adequate care.
The Ukrainian military's General Staff redirected questions on the incident to the National Guard which did not immediately respond to a written request for comment. A spokesperson for Azov could not immediately be reached by telephone for comment.
Azov, initially a nationalist militia which attracted far-right fighters, is now a regular unit in the Ukrainian national guard and denies having any far-right ideology.
Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, said in a statement it would "establish all the circumstances of what happened and the circle of persons involved in committing the crimes."
Apty Alaudinov, deputy head of the military-political directorate of the Russian armed forces, told the TASS news agency he believed the episode constituted a violation of the Geneva Conventions.
Alongside the video, which was published on YouTube as well as on X and Telegram, Azov said the footage had been filmed during an operation by fighters from its 12th Brigade to clear out enemy dug-outs in the Serebryansky Forest, which is in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region. It did not say when it was filmed.
Azov said last month it had pushed Russian troops from positions in the forest.
Reuters verified the location of the video as approximately 7km southeast of Dibrova in Luhansk Region. This was done using roads, terrain and trench lines seen in the video that match satellite imagery of the area. Reuters was not able to verify the date on which the video was filmed.
Ukraine has said it has launched investigations into nearly 130,000 suspected cases of war crimes, including against Ukrainian prisoners of war, something Moscow denies.
Since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, the International Criminal Court has issued six arrest warrants against senior Russian suspects, including President Vladimir Putin and former defence minister Sergei Shoigu.
Russia, which has dismissed the ICC warrants as legally meaningless, itself accuses Kyiv of war crimes, something it in turn denies.
Editing by Jon Boyle
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