War in Ukraine: what do we know about this Ukrainian soldier whose execution, filmed, went viral

UKRAINE – The horror always, in Ukraine. The Ukrainian army swore on Tuesday March 7 to avenge its soldier who, prisoner, seems to have been killed by a burst of bullets after having claimed “Glory to Ukraine! » in an execution video that has gone viral.

On the video of a dozen seconds, we see a man in military uniform but unarmed smoking, stoic, a cigarette. Another man, invisible, said in Russian apparently to a comrade “film it”. “Glory to Ukraine! », retorts the Ukrainian and immediately bursts of machine gun fire pierce him. The man behind the camera then lets go “Die, bastard”.

« A freshly dug grave… His last cigarette…”Glory to Ukraine!” – his last words without looking away… Gunshots. Killing an unarmed prisoner of war is an unforgivable crime. We will never forget. There will be justice. Rest in peace, our hero ».

AFP could not independently verify where and when the footage was taken, or whether it showed, as Ukrainian officials claim, a prisoner victim of a war crime.

The soldier last seen on February 3 near Bakhmout

This video went viral Monday on social media, with many posts, photos and drawings paying tribute to this soldier, his courage and his patriotism. The phrase “Glory to Ukraine” and especially the answer to this one “Glory to the heroes” have also been massively taken up on social networks in Ukraine since Monday.

“According to preliminary data, the deceased is the soldier of the 30th mechanized brigade Tymofiï Mykolayovych Shadura”, said the Ukrainian army on Telegram, the day after the appearance of the video on social networks. Brigade spokesman Anatoly Iavorsky told AFP that the soldier, aged 41 and mobilized in December, was from the Zhytomyr region (center-west).

According BBC News, his unit said he was last seen on February 3 near Bakhmout, the scene of heavy fighting in recent months. “Vengeance for our hero will be inevitable”swore the army.

A doubt about the identity of the killed soldier

However, it was specified that the identification could only be completed after the restitution of the body, which is in occupied territory. This while the media have evoked the identity of another man.

Before Tymofiï Mykolaïovytch Chadoura be named, his sister, Olia, said she recognized her brother: “(He) would definitely be able to stand up to the Russians like that”she told the BBC.

Later, she added that she couldn’t be sure it was him. “I recognize my brother in this video. But if it’s not him, then I feel sorry for his loved ones, and in this case can someone help me find my brother? »

“Find the Killers”

President Volodymyr Zelensky promised on Monday to “find the killers”while his head of diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba called for an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into this case.

“Horrible video of an unarmed Ukrainian POW being executed by Russian forces for simply saying ‘Glory to Ukraine’. Another proof that this war is genocidal”commented Dmytro Kouleba on Twitter.

Moscow and kyiv have regularly accused each other of executing prisoners since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian authorities have not commented on this latest video.

Wagner questions the veracity of this video

The boss of the paramilitary group Wagner, a frontline organization in Bakhmout at the cost of colossal losses, questioned his veracity, in response to a request for comment published on the Telegram account of his press service.

“Is there any confirmation that it was filmed near Bakhmout? Any confirmation that this video is not staged, is there even minimal evidence of Wagner’s involvement? » he commented.

This video is the latest from a Ukrainian whose resilience has become a symbol of the country’s resistance to the Russian invasion. In the early days of the war, it was the audio of a Ukrainian serviceman refusing to surrender to the Russian Navy and cede Serpents’ Island that had gone viral. “Russian warship, fuck you!” »he proclaims.

Conquered by Russia, the islet was recaptured in June by Ukrainian forces who also sank the Moskva, flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in April, having demanded the surrender of the contingent on Serpents’ Island.

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