Horrific footage shows Russian troops 'castrate Ukrainian POW' as Kyiv vows revenge

29 July 2022, 18:33 | Updated: 29 July 2022, 19:25

The unit was active at the steelworks in Mariupol
The unit was active at the steelworks in Mariupol. Picture: Getty

By Will Taylor

Shocking video that appears to show a Ukrainian POW being castrated by Russian forces has emerged on social media.

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The horrifying footage shows Russian troops hold him down and shred off his clothes with a box-cutter knife before mutilating him.

The clip was posted to pro-Russian media before being put on Twitter and pro-Ukraine feeds.

One of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's advisers said the video was authentic.

"The world has to realise: Russia is a country of cannibals who enjoy torture and murder," Mikhailo Podolyak said.

Read more: Boris Johnson's meeting with Lebedev is a 'non-story', says Russian ambassador

"But the fog of war will not help to avoid punishment for the executioners.

"We will identify and get to each of you."

It is believed the Russian troops in the video are from a Chechen unit which has been active in Mariupol, the city devastated by Russian forces as they desperately tried to capture a key site against a handful of determined defenders.

The unit appeared to be active at the bitterly contested Azov steelworks.

The region of Chechnya, which has tried before to break away from Russia, is under the iron grip of a warlord who has been loyal to Vladimir Putin.

This marks a horrifying escalation of their actions in the country.

The Telegraph said one adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister published details of the main Russian suspect from the crime, but deleted the post.

Read more: Russian ambassador confronted with message from captured Brit Shaun Pinner's family

Meanwhile, authorities in the breakaway Donetsk region accused Ukraine of bombarding a site where Ukrainian prisoners of war were being held, but a dispute has broken out over who was to blame.

At least 53 prisoners are said to have died in the blasts.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is thought to be pushing into the Kherson region in its south while Russia has effectively paused its attempts to conquest more of the east of the country.

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