THE former President of Ukraine has launched an explosive attack on Vladimir Putin after a video surfaced of a Ukrainian soldier being beheaded by Russian troops.
Speaking exclusively to GB News, Petro Poroshekno said the Russian leader was a terrorist responsible for “mass genocide.”
He said: “This video proves the latest Russian atrocities in Ukraine. This is one of thousands of disasters that have happened in Ukraine during the last year.
“I was among the first who came to see with my own eyes how the streets were full of dead people without heads, and without hands.
“This is has only one name – genocide. I want to call out to all our partners across the International Community – Putin, his circle, the leadership of his army and the executor of these disasters should be held responsible in an international court. We should never let it repeat again.”
His comments come days after a gruesome video appearing to show a Ukrainian captive being beheaded by a Russian soldier was condemned by Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The clip appears to show a man in green fatigues wearing the yellow armband typically used by Ukrainian soldiers. He is heard screaming before another man apparently uses a knife to decapitate him.
It appears to have been taken by one of the apparent Russian soldiers.
“There is something that no one in the world can ignore: how easily these beasts kill,” the Ukrainian president later said. “There will be legal responsibility for everything. The defeat of terror is necessary,” he added in a video message.
The Kremlin described the video as “awful” but said its authenticity needed to be checked.
Moscow has denied in the past that its troops carry out atrocities during the conflict.
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmitro Kuleba said on Twitter: “A horrific video of Russian troops decapitating a Ukrainian prisoner of war is circulating online.
“It’s absurd that Russia, which is worse than ISIS, is presiding over the UNSC,” he said, referring to the UN Security Council, where Russia took up the rotating presidency this month.
He added: “Russian terrorists must be kicked out of Ukraine and the UN and be held accountable for their crimes.”
Ukraine’s foreign ministry called on the International Criminal Court to “immediately investigate yet another atrocity of the Russian military”.
The UN said it was “appalled” by the footage.
