Kyiv examines reported Russian slaughter of Ukrainian soldier using sword bearing the inscription 'in honor of Kursk'
In a picture distributed online, a person is spotted lying down on a debris-filled road, with a medieval-style sword sticking out of their chest. There's duct tape visible around one of their wounded arms, smeared with blood.
The phrase "for Kursk" is written in Cyrillic on the sword, supposedly alluding to Ukraine's incursion into the Kursk region, marking the first foreign invasion of Russian territory since World War II.
Ukraine's chief prosecutor, Andriy Kostin, stated on Tuesday that this depicted "another act of barbarity" by Russia. His department later initiated an investigation into the reported murder.
Kostin stated that social media was spreading "footage of an alleged sword execution of an unarmed Ukrainian serviceman with bound hands." He posted on X, accusing Russia of aggressively removing everything Ukrainian while demonstrating its global brutality and disregarding ethical norms.
According to Kostin, the event allegedly took place in Novohrodivka, a city situated in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.
Benjamin Strick, Investigations Director at the Centre for Information Resilience, later confirmed the image's location by performing a geolocation check. CNN independently verified this finding.
Ukraine's human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, stated that this supposed execution represented a violation of the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War. According to this convention, prisoners of war should not undergo torture and should be shielded from violence.
Kyiv has been looking into approximately 130,000 war crimes that Russia is alleged to have committed since the start of its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Kostin revealed in June.
Recent discussions with Ukrainian officials revealed that apparent executions had become more frequent this year. CNN acquired exclusive video recorded in late August, during conflicts near the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, showing the apparent execution of three surrendering Ukrainians by Russian troops after their trench was breached.
The image was published during Russia's efforts to oust Ukrainian forces from Kursk. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged Russia's counteroffensive in the region and predicted that Moscow would deploy up to 70,000 troops, but stated last week that Russian forces "still have not achieved any significant success."
At the same time, Russia is encroaching towards Pokrovsk, located northwest of Novohrodivka, where the alleged sword execution was said to have occurred.
The Ukrainian military reported on Thursday that they had repelled 40 Russian attacks near Pokrovsk over the previous 24 hours, with attacks being most intense near Hrodivka and Novohrodivka.
As of yet, the Kremlin has refrained from commenting on the alleged execution.
The incident involving the sword-stabbed individual is said to have occurred in the conflict-ridden eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, specifically in Novohrodivka. This incident, if proven true, would be a violation of the Geneva Convention, as it allegedly involves the execution of prisoners of war.
Despite Ukraine's ongoing struggle against Russian forces in the Kursk region, the world continues to watch as Russia's actions in Europe, such as the reported sword execution in Novohrodivka, raise questions about its adherence to international ethical norms and the treatment of prisoners of war.
