VLADIMIR Putin's troops have been given orders to decapitate Ukrainian soldiers in a barbaric move.
A harrowing picture from the frontlines shows a severed head believed to be of a Ukrainian soldier kept on the hood of a Russian armoured vehicle.
The severed head was placed on the bonnet of a Kozak-2 Ukrainian armoured vehicle used for troop transportation - and was spotted from an aerial reconnaissance drone over the Donetsk region.
Andriy Kostin, Prosecutor General of Ukraine, released the appalling image of the potential war crime.
He said in a statement: "This is dreadful barbarism that has no place in the 21st century.
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"This is further confirmation that the aggressor's war crimes are not isolated instances, but rather a part of the Russian regime's planned policy.
"These criminal orders were issued by the occupation forces' battalion and company commanders. We will not let these crimes go unpunished."
It is understood that the Ukrainian military received information that commanders of a Russian unit in the Volnovakha district of the Donetsk region had ordered troops not to take prisoners but behead them instead.
This is a violation of the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War and the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions Concerning the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts, the prosecutor added.
On April 9, the Prosecutor General's office reported on 27 criminal proceedings over the execution of Ukrainian PoWs.
Criminal cases were opened on the alleged murder of 54 Ukrainian fighters by Russian troops.
TREATMENT OF PRISONERS
Russia has been accused of the mistreatment of prisoners since the start of the gruelling war by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
They claim to have "identified patterns of torture and ill-treatment of PoWs held by the Russian Federation".
Just a few days ago, four blindfolded Ukrainian soldiers held captive by Russian troops were filmed as they were beaten, threatened, and marched through a forest near the frontlines.
It is understood that the Russians were leading the prisoners of war to a mock execution.
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As the Ukrainian soldiers marched in a row - gripping onto each others' shoulders - the five Russian troops tried to make them sing the Soviet national anthem.
One cruel captor kicked the leading Ukrainian in the groin, causing him to fall to the ground, where he was then kicked in the head.
A Russian soldier, reportedly a paratrooper, demanded that the fallen PoW get up, then said: "Looks like we're going to have to kill him.
"Do we have to kill him? Hey, get up, get up."
The cruel fighter raised his Russian army Kalashnikov rifle and shot into the dirt track within inches of the prostrate PoW's head in a mock execution.
One of the Russian soldiers turned the camera back to his own face after the gun fired and frowned.
What happened to the Ukrainian men after the recording finished - and the identities of the torturers - is unclear.
Sick Putin has also been slammed for torturing Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russian camps.
Chilling pictures previously showed a skinny and fragile Ukrainian soldier after being ill-treated by Putin's troops.
An emaciated Gorilyk Roman Vasilyevich was seen returning to his homeland in a harrowing state after two years of savagery at the hands of thuggish Russian officers.
The shocking treatment of Vasilyevich has been slammed by critics who say it leaves Russia in breach of the Geneva Conventions.
Other Ukrainians have reportedly died at the hands of Russian soldiers because they were placed in "improvised detention facilities'.
One is said to have died just three days after being caught due to being left without "adequate medical assistance".
Female prisoners have described sickening stories of being made to walk around naked past guards.
The UK government released a statement last month condemning the "torture and mistreatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war".
Ambassador Neil Holland said: "We call upon Russia to respect its international legal obligations.
"Russia should uphold the laws of war that it helped create. Prisoners of war must not be subjected to torture."
