Russia investigating footage of possible POWs shot by Ukrainian troops

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Russia has begun an investigation after a violent video purportedly showing the abuse of prisoners of war at the hands of the Ukrainian military surfaced online.

The Russian investigative committee stated Sunday that “the video circulating online shows captured soldiers being shot in the legs with medical assistance."

Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the committee, instructed investigators to "establish all the circumstances of the incident, collect and record evidence and identify all the persons involved in it to subsequently bring them to justice.”

According to the Committee, the location of the videos is speculated to be in the eastern region of Kharkov, which is a hub for Ukrainian nationalists.

Several horrifying videos allegedly shot at the same undisclosed location surfaced online over the weekend.

The video shows a large number of people, who appear to be Russian prisoners of war, laying on the ground. All of the troops look to have been assaulted severely and to have leg wounds.

Armed personnel, several of whom are wearing blue armbands often worn by the Ukrainian military, question the injured soldiers. Some of the injured individuals are said to have perished during the interrogation. Three more detainees are also shown being forced out of a vehicle and having their legs shot at point-blank range.

The morbid display of cruelty has been criticized even by pro-Ukrainian figures. Eliot Higgins, the founder of Bellingcat, a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group, called the incident "very serious" and called for a deeper investigation.