07 March 2023 , 14:42
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An unarmed Ukrainian prisoner of war smoking cigarette has been shot dead by Russian soldiers in a shocking video.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to find the men who shot dead the innocent Ukrainian.
"We will find the murderers," he has said in response to a video showing Tymofii Shadura in Ukrainian combat being gunned down in cold blood after saying "glory to Ukraine".
In footage shared on social media, the 41-year-old is seen smoking a cigarette in a clearing in a forest while Russian guns are pointed at him.
He says “slava Ukraini” before he is hit with a barrage of gunfire as the assailants are heard saying: “You’re a bitch. Die, bitch."
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“Today, a video has been released showing how the occupiers brutally killed a warrior who bravely said to their faces: 'Glory to Ukraine! I want us all to respond to his words in unity: Glory to the hero. Glory to heroes. Glory to Ukraine'," Zelensky said in his nightly address.
Tymofii Shadura in Ukrainian combat being gunned down in cold blood (Twitter)Andriy Yermak, Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, said: “There will be retribution for every such war crime. No one can hide from her. We will find everyone.”
While Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on the International Criminal Court to launch an immediate investigation into the footage.
Mr Shadura was fighting in the 30th Separate Mechanised Brigade, which said he was last seen near the eastern city of Bakhmut which has been the epicentre of fierce fighting in recent months.
"Currently, the body of our serviceman is in the temporarily occupied territory," its statement said.
A Ukrainian sniper with the 28th Brigade (Getty Images)Mr Shadura's sister told the BBC: "My brother would certainly be capable of standing up to the Russians like that. He never hid the truth in his life and certainly wouldn't do so in front of the enemy."
The general staff of Ukraine's armed forces said: "The shooting of an unarmed prisoner is a cynical and brazen disregard for the norms of international humanitarian law and the customs of war."
Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets accused Russian troops of committing war crimes by violating the Geneva Conventions regarding the treatment of prisoners of war.
Ukrainian soldiers fire a self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions (AP)In July last year, a gruesome video posted on a pro-Russian Telegram page showed a Ukrainian prisoner of war being castrated by a Russian soldier.
The victim in the video is writhing on the floor of a forest wearing Ukrainian -style camouflage and is shown gagged, with his hands tied behind his back.
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As he lies on the floor a Russian uniformed soldier with a “Z” patch - the pro-war symbol of President Putin's invasion of Ukraine - uses a box cutter to cut off his clothes and then appears to castrate him while hurling derogatory insults at the victim.