Russian soldiers shot and killed two unarmed civilians after a brief encounter in a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Surveillance footage of March 16, which is in the hands of BBC in CNNcan be seen how the soldiers shoot the Ukrainian men in the back.
CNN verified the images and identified the victims. One of them owned a car shop that was looted by five Russian soldiers. The second man was a 68-year-old security guard for the company.
The surveillance footage first shows how the Ukrainians approach the Russians. The group of soldiers is at that moment breaking into the car shop of the owner, who is holding his hands in the air. The soldiers search the two men, after which the two casually walk away after a chat.
Then the Russian soldiers shoot the men in the back, whereupon they fall down in the street. Moments later, the security guard can be seen getting up and leading himself to safety. He later died of his injuries.
A top prosecutor in Ukraine says the incident is being investigated as a war crime after viewing the video. CNN has asked the Russian Ministry of Defense for an explanation in vain. There was no response. Shooting unarmed civilians is a war crime.
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