The New York Times claims to have authenticated a video that appeared online three days ago showing Ukrainian soldiers killing captured Russian soldiers in the Kyiv region. These actions can be regarded as war crimes.

The publication writes that the video was filmed on a road north of the village of Dmitrovka, about 12 kilometers southwest of Bucha, where the bodies of dozens of civilians were found after the retreat of the Russian military. According to numerous testimonies, they were killed by the Russian military. Russia categorically denies this.

The killings of Russian prisoners appear to have been the result of a Ukrainian ambush of a Russian convoy, believed to have taken place on March 30, as Russian troops were withdrawing from small towns west of Kyiv that had been the scene of fighting for several weeks. Earlier, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported on the destruction of the Russian convoy in these places.

In the video, one of the Ukrainian soldiers shoots twice at a Russian serviceman lying on the ground. Nearby lie several more prisoners with white stripes, their hands are tied. In the background is a BMD-2 armored vehicle with a “V” symbol. The Ukrainian military can be recognized by their flag patches and blue armbands, and they repeat “Glory to Ukraine” over and over again.

Advisor to the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak, commenting on the video, said that if Kyiv receives evidence of “any illegal actions” of the military, they will be “normatively returned to the legal field.” At the same time, he added that the “maximally tough actions” of the Ukrainians towards the Russian servicemen are due to the “emotional background.”

Earlier, journalists from The New York Times published an investigation into the killings of civilians in the city of Bucha by the Russian military. After analyzing satellite images, journalists came to the conclusion that the bodies of civilians appeared on the streets in mid-March, that is, before the withdrawal of Russian troops from the city.