Russian soldiers stripped Ukrainian civilians and beat them with sticks in 2022. The Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office reported that two occupiers will face justice for organizing a torture chamber in Kupiansk, in Kharkiv Oblast.
The torture chamber operated inside the occupied district police department. Another 16 Russian suspects are wanted and will be tried in absentia.
“People were beaten with fists, feet, and sticks, and electrocuted,” the prosecutor’s office stated.
During torture, victims were forced to give false testimony about themselves or others, confessing to cooperation with the Ukrainian Army or the Security Service.
The torture chamber was active for six months. Ukrainian civilians were held in cells under completely unsanitary conditions, without water, food, or medical assistance. In some cases, the occupiers staged mock executions, forced people to dig their own “graves,” and threatened their relatives.
Among the victims were teachers, rescuers, volunteers, combat veterans, and other civilians.
A total of 18 individuals involved in the torture have been identified.
They include:
- The so-called “chief” of the illegal “Internal Affairs Directorate"
- Russian military personnel
- Militants from the illegal Russian-installed entities in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts
- Former Ukrainian police officers who betrayed their oath
Earlier, Ukrainian prosecutors identified nine Russian soldiers who held 11 civilians in devastating conditions for over ten days in 2022. Among the Ukrainian civilians tortured by the Russians were children and elderly people.
