Moscow: According to Marta Hurtado, a spokeswoman for the UN watchdog, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is aware of recent video that appears to show Ukrainian troops killing Russian soldiers who had surrendered.

Hurtado said in a statement to TASS on Friday that "we have raised concerns about the treatment of prisoners of war, including allegations of POW killings by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with Ukraine's Ministry of Defense."

The disturbing video in question first surfaced earlier this week. It was recorded by an armed person speaking Ukrainian while demanding information from three soldiers who were lying on the ground. The man attempts to get a coherent response from them, but is unsuccessful, so he shoots one of the men multiple times in the head at close range.

Also read: Pentagon looking to restart Ukraine's top-secret programmes - WaPo

Blood can be seen around the head of one of the men who is motionless on the ground and is believed to have been shot and killed prior to the beginning of the video. By mentioning that the third captive was in possession of a grenade, a fellow Ukrainian soldier appeared to be attempting to reason with the assailant. At the very end of the video, the assailant made a brief appearance, ending it with an obscenity and the phrase "Glory to Ukraine," which is frequently associated with Nazi collaborators from World War II but is widely used in modern-day Ukraine.

Additional video appeared to have been captured right after the murder, showing the killer trying to justify his actions. Hurtado added that the UN is also aware of this video and that none of the justifications are actually valid.

Also read:  Wagner boss predicts the length of the conflict in Ukraine

According to the spokeswoman, "We are also aware of another video that has surfaced on social media platforms that includes additional footage of the initial incident and also appears to show a Ukrainian soldier confessing to the killing and trying to justify it by alleging that the victims refused to surrender or that they were part of the Wagner Group military and security contractors fighting on behalf of the Russian Federation."

These explanations do not justify the soldier's actions in accordance with international humanitarian law.

Also read:  Ambassador: Special operations by the US in Ukraine could significantly escalate

The killing of unarmed soldiers who surrendered is allegedly a "widespread practise" among Kiev's forces, and there have been numerous instances of this during the ongoing conflict, some of which have even been documented online by the murderers themselves.

The recent murder of three Russian POWs by "Ukrainian nationalists" appeared to be depicted in the video, according to the Russian Investigative Committee, which promised to look into the incident further and identify those responsible.