Czech president likens Russian soldiers to ISIS if beheading video proves real

Russian soldiers would rank alongside the Islamic State if the authenticity of a video showing the beheading of a Ukrainian soldier were confirmed, Czech President Petr Pavel said.

A video showing a man in a uniform with a white armband – used by Russia's invading army in Ukraine – cutting off the head of a live man in a uniform with Ukrainian insignia is being investigated by the Ukrainian authorities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for world leaders to respond to the video.

Pavel told journalists that the authenticity of the recording could not be verified, but there were many other documented incidents that need to be condemned and that have no place in the 21st century.

"If the authenticity of the recorded barbaric act on video is confimed, Russian soldiers would side with the Islamic State. We must resolutely condemn that!" he tweeted.

The Islamic State (ISIS) used to post similar videos from Iraq and Syria showing the beheading of captives.

Pavel made his comments after a meeting of the National State Security Council (BRS), which he visited yesterday for the first time since his inauguration on March 9.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also compared Russia to ISIS.

"A horrific video of Russian troops decapitating a Ukrainian prisoner of war is circulating online. It’s absurd that Russia, which is worse than ISIS, is presiding over the UN Security Council. Russian terrorists must be kicked out of Ukraine and the UN and be held accountable for their crimes," he tweeted.

Moscow took over the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council this month.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the videos as horrific, while calling for their verification. Of course, the footage is terrible, he told reporters, according to Russian news agencies. "We live in a world of fakes and it is necessary to check the authenticity of this footage," he added.

The video, which CNN said was posted on April 8 on a pro-Russian channel, was allegedly shot by mercenaries from Russia's Wagner Group and appears to show the decapitated corpses of two Ukrainian soldiers lying on the ground next to a destroyed military vehicle. Russian social media claim it was filmed near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, CNN noted, adding that it could not confirm the location.