The Kremlin said on Monday that Russian investigators would look into a video circulated on social media that purported to show Ukrainian forces mistreating captured Russian soldiers.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the video, which he said contained "monstrous images", needed to be legally assessed and for those who took part in what he described as torture to be held responsible.
Reuters has not been able to independently verify the authenticity of the video cited by the Kremlin.
The Ukrainian government did not immediately respond directly to Peskov's comments although senior officials had earlier portrayed the video as a fake.
"Currently, no one can confirm or deny the veracity of this video. It's not known where it's happening, or who the participants are," military spokesperson Oleksander Motuzyanyk said.
He referred Reuters to comments made by Valery Zaluzhny, the chief commander of Ukraine's armed forces, before Peskov announced the Russian investigation into the video.
"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," Zaluzhny said.
Ukraine's armed forces respect international norms, Zaluzhny said, accusing Russia of producing such videos in order to discredit Ukrainian soldiers. He did not provide any evidence to support his accusation.
Sergii Nykyforov, press spokesperson for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said the video must be assessed "in the context of both real and information wars." He did not elaborate.
(Reporting by Reuters reporters; Editing by Jon Boyle)
