A video from the Ukraine war shows a man mutilated. In a second video, he is killed and dragged into a grave.
Update from Sunday, July 31, 10:15 a.m .: At the request of our editors, Aric Toler from the Bellingcat research network again confirmed the content of the video. Meanwhile also the second video. This video could also be verified by Bellingcat , as Toler announced on request.
The second video shows the shooting of the soldier who was mutilated in the first video. The man is shot in the head at close range in the video.
Ukraine War News: Second Video Verified – Battered Soldier Shot and Dragged to Grave
After killing the soldier, his tormentors use two long ropes attached to his ankles to drag him into an already dug “grave” that is right next to the man. In contrast to the first video, in this second video it is relatively clear that the soldier was fighting on the side of Ukraine.
transparency notice
Due to the brutality in the videos, our editorial team refrains from using screenshots or similar material in this article. Information was also left out that makes it possible to find the videos.
Verifying such videos is very difficult. A 100% guarantee of authenticity is only available in the very rarest of cases. Based on details and connections, only a probability of the authenticity of the recordings can be proven.
He wears the typical yellow and blue insignia on his uniform. Patches of the “Z” logo on the perpetrators’ uniforms help identify Bellingcat . Also featured on vehicles seen in the background of the scenery is the pro-Russian “Z” symbol. Even though most of the uncensored versions of the videos have already been deleted, the man who was killed continues to be mocked in pro-Russian chat groups. The soldier identified by Bellingcat as the suspected perpetrator is glorified in some of these groups.
Ukraine War: War Crimes Documented on Videos
First report from Saturday, July 30, 12:00 p.m.: Sievjerodonetsk – The Ukraine war is repeatedly documented in videos on the Internet. These often include those with alleged war crimes. Recently, a video made the rounds, which is supposed to show the mutilation of a prisoner.
Aric Toler, a research specialist for the Bellingcat collective, has now evaluated the video. He is said to have confirmed the authenticity of the video to the Times , as L’Essentiel quotes the British newspaper.
Horror video from Ukraine: Pro-Russian soldiers are said to have castrated prisoners
In the video, which is available from fr.de , a soldier can be seen lying on the ground. The man’s arms are tied behind his back. Two men are standing to his left and right, another is filming the situation. The man on the left wears a conspicuous hat and blue surgical gloves. In his right hand he holds a green carpet knife.
The soldier on the ground struggles against the men’s grasp. The actor gets on the legs of the apparent prisoner to sedate him. One of the tormentors keeps stepping on the neck and head of the man who is lying on the ground. Later in the video, the man with the box cutter bends down to mutilate the prisoner. Judging by the moans, the prisoner was gagged before the ordeal.
Video: There is talk of war crimes in Olenivka too
War crimes video: Neither Russia nor Ukraine have commented so far
Neither the Russian side nor the Ukrainian side have commented on the video so far. But analyst Aric Toler was able to identify the alleged perpetrator. It is said to be a soldier originally from a Russian region on the Caspian Sea.
Identity is considered certain: research collective suspects soldiers of a Chechen unit behind it
The identification was only possible because the alleged perpetrator had previously been filmed by the Russian news agency Ria Novosti at the Azov chemical plant in Severodonetsk. Above all hat and shoes should have helped with the identification.
He is said to belong to a notorious Chechen unit, according to the Luxembourg daily L’Essentiel . Another video is said to show the murder of the man mutilated in the first video, according to social media channels, but this has not yet been verified.
Azov Regiment: The mutilated could belong to this unit
The prisoner could be a member of the Azov regiment. Under Aric Toler’s Twitter post, he attached pictures of suspected comrades of the perpetrator, who are assigned to the same unit in the Ria Novosti video.
At least two of the men can be seen in the pictures giving Hitler salutes. Whether the men who raised their right arm in the fascist salute are actually members of the same unit as the perpetrator has not yet been independently confirmed. Again and again videos from the Ukraine war show prisoners. (Lucas Maier)
