KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� Ukrainian authorities said Tuesday they were investigating the conduct of Russian troops who appeared in a video that Moscow alleged showed them trying to surrender, then being shot.
that Moscow alleges show that Ukrainian forces killed Russian troops who may have been trying to surrender, after one of the men seemingly refused to lay down his weapon and opened fire.
Ukraine鈥檚 Prosecutor General鈥檚 office said in a statement Tuesday that a probe has been launched on charges of violating the laws or customs of war over what they said was 鈥渇eigning surrender and opening fire on the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine" by the Russian servicemen.
The move comes after Russian authorities announced their own criminal investigation based on the snippets posted on Russian Telegram channels and relayed on other social media. They present a muddled and incomplete picture.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed the footage shows an 鈥渆xecution鈥� and said Russia wants an international probe.
Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine鈥檚 deputy prime minister overseeing the country鈥檚 push to join the European Union, said last weekend that 鈥渋t is very unlikely鈥� that the short, edited snippets show what Moscow claims. She said that Ukrainian forces are under direct orders to take as many prisoners as possible so they can be swapped in prisoner exchanges with Russia.
Ukraine's presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said in an interview Tuesday that Kyiv has a full version of the video, which it intends to release at some point.
Podolyak argued that the full video showed that 鈥淩ussian troops indeed intended to surrender, and some opened fire at the Ukrainians who were trying to carry out the procedure (of surrendering).鈥�
The full video, the official said, showed two Russian servicemen 鈥渃ome out and start shooting at people, at Ukrainian servicemen.鈥� Podolyak said 鈥渢here is a bit of a blur on the second character,鈥� but one 鈥渋s clearly visible.鈥�
Beth Van Schaack, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for Global Criminal Justice, told reporters on Monday that 鈥渋t鈥檚 really important to emphasize that the laws of war apply to all parties equally, both the aggressor state and the defender state.鈥�
"But when it comes to the war in Ukraine, that鈥檚 really where the equivalency ends. When we鈥檙e looking at the sheer scale of criminality exhibited by Russia鈥檚 forces, it鈥檚 enormous compared to the allegations that we have seen against Ukrainian forces,鈥� Van Schaack said.
The Associated Press
