UN is "shocked" by Russian forces' atrocities

This was reported by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission.

"The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine is shocked by recent videos that clearly show the beating, torture, castration, as well as killing of a captured Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman by a man who appears to be a member of the Russian Federation Armed Forces or affiliated with armed groups", it is noted. "In one of the videos, a serviceman was shot in the head after being tortured, and his body was dragged into a ditch. Such actions, if confirmed, qualify as war crimes".

The UN mission noted that this is only one of a number of videos that depict torture and extrajudicial executions of prisoners of war and persons who have ceased to participate in hostilities committed by the warring parties.

"Our mission reported in a public report about videos of Ukrainian servicemen shooting the legs of three captured Russian soldiers, as well as about the murder of a wounded Russian soldier", the statement said.

"All parties are obliged to avoid torture, killings and promises not to spare military prisoners who have surrendered. The parties should promptly and effectively investigate all possible cases of torture and unlawful killings. War criminals should be prosecuted, and their cases should be tried by a competent court", they added.