DISINFO: Ukrainian soldiers brand Russian POWs with iron trident
SUMMARY
A hand-made branding iron with a trident has been found in the duffel-bag of a dead Ukrainian soldier in the Kursk Region. Judging by its state, it had been on heat. It had been used for torturing Russian POWs, which is a military crime. This reminds of the Inquisition. This branding iron shows the Ukrainian's animal brutality. One cannot imagine Russian military units with such a thing. Hatred has not been nurtured in Russians over the past 30 years. It differs them from Ukrainians. The most offensive thing Russians could do to Ukrainians might be a joke, which was harmless, while Ukrainians have been nurtured to oust everything Russian from them and to dehumanise their Russian neighbours.
RESPONSE
Recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets accusing Ukraine of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity and deflecting attention away from the crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine. This claim was made in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The TV footage did show a metal plate with a trident on it with a metal rod and a wooden handle. But it does not mean that it is a branding iron or that it was used for maltreating or torturing Russian POWs. There is evidence to the contrary. Dozens of Russian POWs from the Kursk Region, who have been placed in a Ukrainian prison, told reporters in August 2024 that they were being treated humanely and had been provided with medical treatment. These interviews were held in the presence of Red Cross officials. Ukraine also suggested it could organise a humanitarian corridor for Russians who wanted to flee hostilities in the Kursk region. Ukrainian troops were also shown distributing humanitarian aid among local residents. Ukrainian political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko said such a policy was important for Ukraine given the fact that Russia was trying to use hostilities in the Kursk Region to discredit Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces started an advance into Russia’s adjacent Kursk Region on 6 August 2024, aiming to create a buffer zone on Russian territory in order to save the bordering Ukrainian territories from continual Russian missile and drone attacks.
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