New allegations of torture against Russian soldiers

Created: 06/01/2022, 14:37

By: Nail Akkoyun

A Russian soldier in the occupied city of Kherson.

Residents accuse the invaders of mistreatment.

(Archive photo) © RIA Novosti / Imago Images

People in the occupied Ukrainian city of Cherson report torture by Russian soldiers.

Moscow declined to comment on the allegations.

Cherson - At the beginning of the Ukraine war, Russian troops took control of Cherson in southern Ukraine within a few days.

The Ukrainian television channels were quickly replaced by Russian state channels, and Western products were exchanged for Russian alternatives.

The port city in the oblast of the same name has been occupied by Russian troops since the beginning of March.

The BBC has now collected several graphic accounts from residents of the city alleging that they have been tortured.

According to several reports, people also began to disappear.

There is still no trace of some.

The fear in and around the port city is great.

Civilians who manage to escape often delete all photos and videos on their cellphones to avoid difficulties at Russian checkpoints.

Olexander, a villager who spoke about his torture, sent the pictures of his injuries to his son abroad before they were deleted - to keep them safe.

Ukraine war: "They put a rope around my neck"

"They put a sack over my head," Olexander told a BBC reporter.

"The Russians threatened me that I would no longer have any kidneys." Olexander was a deputy from the nearby village of Bilozerka, previously a conscript in the army.

While his wife took part in pro-Ukrainian rallies, Olexander, together with other men, tried to defend the village from the invaders.

After taking power, it didn't take long for them to search and find Olexander.

"They put a rope around my neck and another around my wrists," he said.

"When I didn't answer them, they punched me between the legs.

When I fell, I started choking.

If you try to get up, they hit you.

Then ask again.”

Abuses in the Ukraine war: journalists were broken four ribs

Oleh Baturin also speaks about the mistreatment by Russian troops.

He was a journalist with an independent newspaper in the Kherson region.

Just a few days after Russia attacked the neighboring country, he said he was kidnapped.

"They covered my face and put their hands behind my back.

They hit me on the back, ribs and legs... and hit me with the butt of a machine gun.”

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It was only when Oleh went to see a doctor later that he found out that the soldiers had broken four of his ribs.

Oleh further reported that he was detained for eight days and witnessed other forms of torture and the mock execution of a young man.

For now, Olexander and Oleh are safe.

They are both in territories ruled by Ukraine - at least for now.

Both men provided the BBC with photos they described as police reports of the ill-treatment.

Ukraine War: Cherson doctor reports serious injuries

A doctor working at a hospital in Kherson can confirm some of the allegations of torture against Russian soldiers.

"There were signs of mutilation," he said, citing bruises, abrasions, lacerations, signs of electric shock, traces of shackles on the hands and wounds on the neck.

He also saw burns on his feet and hands.

"Some of the worst were burns to the genitals, a gunshot wound to the head of a raped girl and burns from an iron on a patient's back and abdomen.

The patient told me that two wires from a car battery were attached to his groin and he was told to stand on a wet rag," the doctor said, asking not to be identified.

But according to the doctor, these are only a few of the many seriously injured.

Many people are too intimidated, others are threatened by the troops.

"They threaten that their families will be killed and intimidate them in every possible way." Many of those affected were tortured, among other things, because they "did not want to go over to the Russian side" or "because a family member fought against the separatists Has".

Conditions in the Ukraine war: Moscow does not comment on the allegations

In addition to the BBC, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission and Human Rights Watch are also investigating the situation in Cherson and the rest of Ukraine.

Reports of human rights violations and war crimes in the Ukraine conflict have been mounting for months.

The reports from the now liberated Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, where numerous executions had taken place, caused an international sensation.

At the time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed in early April that the documentation was "obvious forgeries".

The Russian Ministry of Defense has not responded to a BBC request for comment on the atrocities in Kherson.

(nak)