A Ukrainian prisoner of war gunned down in cold blood after saying “glory to Ukraine” in front of his Russian captors has been hailed as a martyr. In footage shared on social media, the lone man smokes a cigarette in a clearing in a forest while Russian guns are pointed at him.

In his last moments he defiantly says “slava Ukraini” — the Ukrainian war motto — before being shot to death in bursts of gunfire.

Andriy Yermak, Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, said: “There will be retribution for every such war crime. No one can hide from her. We will find everyone.”

Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister, called on the International Criminal Court to launch an immediate investigation into the footage. It is unclear where or for what unit the Ukrainian soldier had been fighting when he was captured.

The unnamed soldier’s apparent death has been shared widely by members of Ukraine’s armed forces, as he is hailed as a hero by fellow troops.

The Daily Telegraph could not immediately verify the footage. Kyiv’s intelligence service has previously warned that Russians had been ordered to kill Ukrainian prisoners of war, a war crime according to the Geneva Convention.

It came as Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian mercenary boss, “sent a truckload of champagne” made in Bakhmut to Ukrainian women to mark International Women’s Day in a social media stunt.

The Kremlin-linked tycoon shared footage of him helping load the sparkling wine onto a lorry as fighters from his Wagner Group appeared on the cusp of victory in the eastern city.

The Daily Telegraph, London