Zelensky pledges justice for unarmed Ukrainian POW killed on video

March 7 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pledged to seek justice for an unarmed Ukrainian prisoner of war who was killed in a trench on video.

The soldier, identified Tuesday by the Ukrainian military as Tymofiy Mykolayovych Shadura, a member of the 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade, was seen on a short video that appeared on Telegram on Monday. With a cigarette on his lip, Shadura is heard saying "Glory to Ukraine" before being shot to death.

The shooters are believed to be Russian soldiers. After Shadura dies, one soldier mutters "Die, [expletive]," in Russian, The Guardian reported.

The Ukrainian military posted on Facebook that Shadura was last seen serving near the city of Bakhmut on Feb. 3, before he went missing. His body remained in occupied Russian territory and had yet to be recovered.

"The command of the 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade and the hero's brothers express sincere condolences to his family and loved ones," Ukraine's military posted on Facebook. "Revenge will be irreversible. Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!"

Shadura's killers will be found, Zelensky said in a post on Telegram.

"A video has emerged of the occupiers brutally killing a warrior who bravely said to their faces: 'Glory to Ukraine!,'" Zelensky said. "I want us all to respond to his words together, in unity: 'Glory to the hero! Glory to the heroes! Glory to Ukraine!' And we will find the murderers. Ukraine will not forget the feat of each and every one whose lives gave freedom to Ukraine forever."

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said the killing is being investigated as a criminal case as a potential violation of war laws.

While the suffering continues on the battlefield, the strain the war in Ukraine has put on the global economy, including the world's food supply, continues to impact some of the most vulnerable nations.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is making a surprise trip to Ukraine to meet with Zelensky and discuss an agreement for Ukraine and Russia to allow grain exports. The Black Sea Grain Initiative was agreed upon last year and Guterres hopes to reaffirm the terms ahead of its March 18 deadline.