A video of a Ukrainian prisoner of war being brutally executed in a forest circulated on social media. (Twitter capture) Newsis
Ukraine has revealed the identity of its soldier in a video of the execution of a Ukrainian soldier that was circulated online last week, AFP reported on the 12th (local time).
The Ukrainian State Security Service (SBU) identified the soldier as Oleksandr Ihorovich Machijewski, 42, a sniper from the 163rd Battalion of the Homeland Defense Brigade in the Chernihiv region of northeastern Ukraine.
The SBU explained, “Identification was confirmed through conversations with relatives, analysis of photos and videos, and forensic tests.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a speech that day, “I commend Matievsky for his courage and award him the title ‘Hero of Ukraine’.”
A 12-second video previously circulated on social media showed an unarmed Ukrainian soldier standing in a trench, smoking a cigarette, and then being shot dead by an automatic machine gun. The soldier shouted “Glory to Ukraine” before being shot. Immediately after, someone fired multiple shots at him.
Considering that the swear words are in Russian, meaning “die dog XX”, and that automatic weapons were used, it was assumed that the Russians killed the Ukrainian prisoners.
Lee Ye-ji, Donga.com reporter [email protected]
