Video shows Russian POWs being beaten, shot in the legs

NEW YORK • A video shared online on Sunday shows soldiers who are likely Ukrainian beating and shooting prisoners of war (POWs) from the Russian military.

The footage shows five of the prisoners tied up and lying on the ground - some held at gunpoint and some with bags over their heads.

In the video, which runs for more than five minutes, the five prisoners appear to have serious injuries, but it is not clear how they were wounded.

Later in the video, three other captives are shot in their legs without provocation and fall to the ground. One of them is then struck in his face with the end of a rifle.

A number of the captors, who kick and hit the prisoners throughout the video, are wearing blue armbands characteristic of the Ukrainian military.

Both parties are mostly speaking Russian, with the captors speaking Russian in a Ukrainian accent.

At one point in the video, one captor is heard speaking Ukrainian.

The New York Times has not identified the source who originally posted the video.

But based on the video's perspective and dialogue, it appears to have been filmed by one of the captors.

The location of the video, first suggested by a Twitter user, has been independently verified by The Times.

It was filmed on the eastern outskirts of Kharkiv, near the front line of the conflict, in an area held by Ukrainian forces.

NYTIMES