Videos of killed Russian POWs appear authentic, says Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Videos of killed Russian POWs appear authentic, says Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on Friday that, Videos showing Russian soldiers apparently executed by Ukrainian forces appear genuine. Turk called on Kiev to investigate this incident, which Moscow claims as an outright execution.

Turk said in a press release that, “Our Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has conducted a preliminary analysis indicating that these disturbing videos are highly likely to be authentic in what they show. The analysis…underlines the need for independent and detailed forensic investigations to help establish exactly what happened”.

Russian Ministry of Defense described the footage as evidence of “the deliberate and methodical murder of the soldiers”. Russian Presidential Human Rights Council called the incident as a “demonstrative and audacious crime”.

Turk acknowledged that Ukraine has opened an investigation. He called on Kiev and insisted to make sure that “the probe is seen to be independent, impartial, thorough, transparent, prompt and effective”.

Turk also urged that “both sides to issue clear instructions to their forces that there should be no retaliation, no reprisals, against those they take as prisoners of war”. He informed to both militaries that “the summary execution of prisoners constitutes a war crime. Order your troops to treat those who surrender and those they detain humanely”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that, “In addition to executing the captured Russians, Ukrainian commanders have murdered their own men for refusing to follow orders. Russia is dealing with a neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine, which operates in a completely different moral atmosphere”.