Outrage as footage appears to show Ukrainian prisoner of war being castrated by Russian soldiers
Footage which appears to show Russian soldiers pinning a Ukrainian prisoner of war to the ground before cutting off his genitals has sparked outrage in Ukraine.
Ukrainian MP Inna Sovsun tweeted to say she was banned by Twitter after posting the clip on the social media platform.
Once she had regained access to her account, Ms Sovsun shared a screenshot of her original post with the video blurred.
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Sky News has decided not to show any footage or images.
She had written in her original tweet: “Russian soldier from Chechen battalion Ahmat cut off the genitals of Ukrainian POW (prisoner of war).
“This is what Nazis are doing to Ukrainians.
“Russia has to pay for it!
“Give Ukraine the weapons we need to stop this nightmare once and for all. The world can’t pretend like this isn’t happening!”
Ms Sovsun wrote in a follow-up tweet on Friday: “Twitter banned my profile today. Because I posted a video where a Russian soldier castrates a Ukrainian POW.
“@Twitter decided it was too cruel. But this is what happens. And deleting the video won’t change that.
“People should know what #Russia is doing!”
The video shows a group of men in Russian camouflage outfits pinning a Ukrainian prisoner of war to the ground.
They are then said to use a box cutter to remove his genitals before showing them to the camera.
‘Brutal war crimes’ must be investigated
In further footage seen by Sky News, the same prisoner is videoed getting tied up and shot in the head at the same location.
It is not clear when or where the video was filmed.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the “brutal war crimes”, calling on the International Criminal Court to investigate.
“Ukraine strongly condemns the brutal war crimes committed by the servicemen of the Russian Federation against Ukrainian prisoners of war, particularly horrible cases of torture, physical abuse, inhuman treatment, wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health and wilful killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war,” the department said in a statement.
“Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba calls on the international community to condemn the brutal violation of international law by the Russian Federation and to immediately recognize Russia as a terrorist state
“He emphasised that any delay in this decision will only encourage Russia to commit further crimes and inhumane acts.”
War crimes allegations against Russia continue to mount
Since the invasion of Ukraine began in February, Russia has been accused of committing thousands of war crimes.
The International Criminal Court has described Ukraine as a “crime scene”, sending its largest ever team to investigate.
In April, Ukraine’s prosecutor accused 10 Russian soldiers of atrocities in the town of Bucha, where evidence of mass killings was uncovered.
Meanwhile, Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin, 21, admitted to shooting unarmed Oleksandr Shelipov, 62, dead in the early days of the war.
Shishimarin asked Mr Shelipov’s widow to forgive him when he faced her in court in May.
