Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, referred to Russian troops as “beasts” on Wednesday for the killing of a Ukrainian soldier who looked to have been beheaded while still alive in a video shared on social media.
Zelenskyy’s response comes as Kiev intensifies diplomatic pressure on Moscow’s participation in international fora like the Olympics and the UN Security Council.
The Ukrainian president stated in a video posted on Twitter that “how easily these beasts kill is something no one in the world can ignore.”
“This video, showing the execution of a Ukrainian prisoner, needs to be seen by the world,” he continued. What beasts they are, there are no humans for them: a son, a brother, a husband, or a father. This is a movie of Russia as it is.
The past several days have seen the appearance of two videos. One video purportedly shot by mercenaries from the Wagner Group apparently depicts the bodies of two Ukrainian troops who had their heads and hands severed and were shown on pro-Russian social media.
Another, perhaps from the summer, depicts a Russian severing the head of a Ukrainian prisoner with a knife while the victim appears to be pleading with the assailant.People in Ukraine are debating yet another piece of potential proof of a Russian war crime in the country’s streets and on social media, which is rife with rage and anguish.
To spare the feelings of the soldier’s relatives who might recognize him from the video, representatives from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense begged people not to disseminate the video. Tweets from other soldiers serving on the front lines
