Terrible details about the torture of Ukrainians in the Kharkiv region by Russians were revealed

During the partial occupation of the Kharkiv region, six Russian soldiers tortured and abused the civilian population in the Izyum district. Law enforcement officers identified the war criminals and gathered all the facts of their activities. Military forces of the Russian Federation will be judged in absentia.

This was reported by the press service of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office on Monday, October 14.

Torture of civilians in Kharkiv region

Ukrainian law enforcement officers have established who exactly took part in the torture of residents of Savyntsi village and Dovhalivka village of Izyum district. The accused people are servicemen of the 3rd rifle platoon of the 4th rifle company of the 1st rifle battalion of the 202nd motorized rifle regiment "Luhansk People's Republic" and the chief of staff of the battalion of the 126th regiment of the national guard troops of the federal service of the national guard troops of the Russian Federation.

Since March 2, 2022, the Russian military, including the six defendants, took control of Savyntsi and Dovhalivka in the Izyum district, held pro-Ukrainian citizens in torture chambers, and abused them, trying to obtain information about the Ukrainian military and local residents who help the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The occupiers used physical and psychological violence and torture.

How Russian occupiers tortured people

According to the prosecutor's office, the victims' hands were tied behind their backs, their vital organs were beaten, automatic weapons were fired next to them, some were taken to the forest and simulated shooting. People were kept in unsanitary conditions, without access to food and water.

"The Russian military stuck a knife several times in the leg of the illegally detained men and drilled it in the wound in order to cause as much pain as possible," the prosecutor's office said.

Among those detained by the occupiers was a deputy of the village council of the Savyntsi community: his interrogation was personally conducted by the chief of staff of the battalion of the 126th regiment of the national guard troops of the federal service of the national guard troops of the Russian Federation.

"He threatened the deputy with physical mutilation, namely cutting off the genitals. At this time, the other defendant was beating the victim. After the abuse, the occupiers left the torture chamber. Even later, the deputy heard the door open and the occupiers threw a smoke bomb into the room, causing him to suffocate. They pulled the man out into the yard, put a rope around his neck and began to squeeze him, gradually limiting the access of air," the investigators reported.

The detainee was asked about local partisans. The victim lost consciousness due to lack of air, they brought him to consciousness and began to kick his body while he was lying on the ground. Such an execution was carried out several times.

One of the victims, a 59-year-old man, received severe injuries incompatible with life as a result of torture by the occupiers. Other victims managed to survive.

What threatens war criminals

The prosecutors of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office approved and sent to the court an indictment against six occupiers for violation of the laws and customs of war, committed by a group of persons based on a prior conspiracy, for which the Criminal Code of Ukraine provides imprisonment for a term of ten to fifteen years or life imprisonment. 

The accused criminals are wanted. They will be tried in absentia at the Balakliya District Court of the Kharkiv Region.

It should be reminded, that previously, Kharkiv law enforcement officers already reported the details of the activities of the Russian occupiers in the Izyum district. The city was under occupation from the beginning of April until September 10, 2022. One of the most mass burials was found near it.

Novyny.LIVE also wrote that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy named the number of war crimes committed by Russia against Ukraine. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has committed at least 137,000 war crimes.