Ukrainian officials have called for an investigation after videos appeared on social media that apparently show Russian soldiers castrating, and then killing, a Ukrainian prisoner of war.
Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on July 29 that he had requested the Prosecutor-General's Office to launch a probe into the gruesome videos, which appeared on several Russian- and Ukrainian-language channels of the Telegram social media network a day earlier.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.
Details of the video, such as where and when it was filmed, have yet to be independently confirmed by official sources. RFE/RL has also been unable to confirm the authenticity of the video and has decided not to publish it.
"I have applied to the Office of the Prosecutor-General of Ukraine to verify the fact and record of a war crime, of a violation of the Geneva Convention," Lubinets said.
"Also, we are preparing a communique for the UN Committee Against Torture to organize an urgent visit to the Russian Federation and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, as well as to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)," he added.
Referring to the videos, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak vowed that Ukraine will identify "everyone" involved in the incident, saying "the fog of war will not help the Russian executioners avoid punishment."
Russian officials have yet to comment officially on the videos.
EU Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in a statement referred to the "appalling" video in which Russian soldiers "commit a heinous atrocity against a Ukrainian prisoner of war."
The statement said the EU "in the strongest possible terms" condemns atrocities conducted by Russian forces and their proxies in Ukraine.
"These inhumane, barbaric acts represent severe breaches of the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocol and amount to war crimes," he is quoted as saying in the statement.
Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, called it a "horrific assault" and said it was "yet another apparent example of complete disregard for human life and dignity" committed by Russian forces.
International law is clear that prisoners of war must not be subjected to any form of torture or ill-treatment and should have access to the International Committee of the Red Cross, Struthers said in a news release on July 29.
"The relevant authorities must fully respect the rights of prisoners of war in accordance with the Geneva Conventions,” she added.
Since Moscow launched its unprovoked invasion in late February, Ukraine says it has identified thousands of war crimes committed by Russian troops.
Investigators from several countries, as well as the International Criminal Court, have also been gathering and examining evidence to determine whether war crimes have been committed.
Amnesty International said in its July 29 news release that it also has documented crimes under international law such as summary killings of captives by Russia-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine and extrajudicial executions of Ukrainian civilians by Russian forces.
Russia says it has not purposely targeted civilians in its military operations despite mounting video and concrete evidence that shows the destruction of apartment buildings, hospitals, cultural venues, and other nonmilitary sites.
It has also accused Ukrainian soldiers of committing war crimes, without providing evidence.