Video footage purporting to show the torture of Russian prisoners of war is being investigated by the Ukrainian government.
The film, which has not been verified, appears to show Ukrainian soldiers removing three hooded Russians from a van before shooting them in the legs.
The Ukrainian military commander Gen Valerii Zaluzhnyi accused Russia of staging the videos.
“The enemy produces and shares videos with the inhuman treatment of alleged ‘Russian prisoners’ by ‘Ukrainian soldiers’ in order to discredit the Ukrainian defence forces,” Zaluzhnyi said.
However, the government in Kyiv said they were taking the allegations of mistreatment “very seriously” and that there would be an immediate investigation.
Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said: “We are a European army, and we do not mock our prisoners. If this turns out to be real, this is absolutely unacceptable behaviour.”
Arestovych added: “I would like to remind all our military, civilian and defence forces once again that the abuse of prisoners is a war crime that has no amnesty under military law and has no statute of limitations.”
Oleksander Motuzyanyk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military, said they did not know who was involved or where the incidents took place.
“Currently, no one can confirm or deny the veracity of this video,” he said. “It’s not known where it’s happening, or who the participants are.”
The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the “monstrous images” needed to be legally assessed and for those who took part to be held responsible.
The footage emerged as Ukrainian forces claimed significant victories on the battlefield on Monday, with the local mayor of Irpin saying that the town, which is on the north-west outskirts of Kyiv, had been retaken.
Oleksandr Markushyn said: “We have good news today – Irpin has been liberated. We understand that there will be more attacks on our town and we will defend it courageously.”
In Kharkiv, the mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said the war was turning against the Russians despite his city being shelled for weeks.
He said: “People have begun to return to Kharkiv. Foremost, these are men who have taken their families to safe places and now are returning to defend their home town by joining the territorial defence forces. Moreover, sometimes even entire families are returning. Now we have an opportunity to evacuate people, but there are almost no takers.”
He said that at the latest count the Russians had destroyed or damaged 1,177 residential buildings, 53 kindergartens, more than 50 schools and 10 hospitals.
He said: “No matter what, the whole city works as an integral whole. Volunteers and police deliver humanitarian aid to the place of non-stop shelling. We are all as one making a common cause. Kharkiv lives and works.”