‘Put it in a bag and send it to his commander’ Newly-surfaced video appears to show Russian fighters beheading Ukrainian soldier
A video has surfaced online that appears to show Russian soldiers beheading a Ukrainian soldier.
According to the investigative outlet The Insider, one of the first places the clip appeared was on the private Telegram channel of Vladislav Pozdnyakov, the founder of the Russian far-right hate group Male State. The video was shared by numerous Russian pro-war Telegram channels and Ukrainian social media accounts.
It’s unclear who filmed the video or when the killing occurred, but green grass and leaves visible in the clip suggest it was made in the summer of 2022. The video’s authenticity has not been confirmed. Meduza is not publishing the video or links to it on ethical grounds.
Warning: The text below contains graphic descriptions of violence that may disturb some readers.
A man in a military uniform with a yellow band on his arm, like the ones worn by Ukrainian soldiers, lies on the ground. A man in a mask and camouflage clothing with a white band on his arm, like those worn by Russian soldiers, stands over him. There are no insignias or badges on his clothes.
The man with the white band uses a knife to cut off the head of the man with the yellow band. The latter screams in pain as this is happening.
Several other people are heard commenting on the killing: “We’re doing it, brothers! [...] Fucking cut it off! Break his spine! [...] What, you’ve never cut off heads before?” One of the person’s head is completely separated from his body, someone is heard saying, “Put it in a fucking bag and send it to his commander.”
Soon after the video began to circulate, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram, “There will be an answer and accountability for everything.” It’s unclear what he was referring to, but Ukrainian media outlets have suggested that the message is a response to the video.
At the time of publication, no other Russian or Ukrainian officials had commented on the video.
Update: In response to a question about the video, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the footage “terrible” but said that its authenticity needs to be verified as we “live in a world of fakes.” The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on the video. The independent outlet Agentstvo noted that multiple unofficial pro-Russian Telegram channels have reacted approvingly to the footage.
Picture: Alexander Ermochenko / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA