Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged world leaders to take action, stating that “everyone must react” and not wait for it to be forgotten.
The Ukrainian security service has launched an investigation into the “war crime,” but the Kremlin has demanded that the footage be verified.
According to reports, the video was shot on a cell phone during the summer months and depicts a man in military uniform wearing a yellow armband, a symbol commonly worn by Ukrainian soldiers.
The video has not been independently verified.
The perpetrator and other men visible in the video have been identified as Russian soldiers because they have white bands on their legs, a common method of identification among Russian soldiers. The video is extremely graphic, with a man wielding a large knife and beheading the victim wearing the yellow armband.
The video has sparked outrage on social media, with many people demanding justice for the victim and condemnation of Russian forces if found to be at fault.
The footage has also sparked speculation about when and where it was shot, with some speculating that it was shot near the city of Kreminna in eastern Ukraine during the current conflict.
This is not the first gruesome video to circulate on social media; many gruesome videos have been posted online since the war began. The current video, however, has heightened tensions between Ukraine and Russia, with President Zelensky promising to find those responsible for the beheading and shooting of unarmed prisoner of war Oleksandr Matsiyevskiy last month.