Russia's Investigative Committee on Friday announced it would check to establish the origins of a controversial video showing alleged Russian Navy sailors firing at a group of pirates in a boat.
The controversial video, available on the Internet, depicts alleged Russian sailors from the Marshal Shaposhnikov, a large anti-submarine ship, shelling a boat with pirates in the waters in the Gulf of Aden, where pirate attacks on commercial vessels are very frequent.
"In relation with the appearance of the video... the Russian Investigative Committee's Pacific Fleet department launched a pre-investigation probe," a statement by the department said.
"The persons who are depicted in the video and those who recordered it are now being established," the statement added. Investigators will attempt to verify if there was any intentional post-editing of the video material added depicting the sailors mocking the attack.
Russian Navy Chief Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky put the authenticity of the video in doubt. "It's unlikely our sailors would shoot somebody at sea, even pirates. This is nonsense," he said.
MOSCOW, December 24 (RIA Novosti)
