"One of the means of psychological pressure used by terrorists to achieve their goals is to instill a climate of fear… For this purpose, militants of nationalist units torment Russian prisoners of war by recording torture videos and disseminating this horrifying footage", Syromolotov said.
In one such incident, footage of a presumably Russian soldier being shot in the legs appeared on the internet, spurring condemnation by Russian officials. The Ukrainian government said in late March that it would initiate an investigation, accusing the Russian side of staging the video.
Following the incident, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it was maintaining contacts with both Kiev and Moscow on their obligations under international humanitarian law, calling on the parties to abide by the Geneva conventions, particularly regarding the humane treatment of POWs.
On 24 February, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. The Russian Ministry of Defence said the operation is only targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure and the civilian population is not in danger.