Independent United Nations experts have confirmed that the Russian occupiers used such brutal torture in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine that it led to the death of some victims.
This was stated by the head of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry into Violations in Ukraine, Eric Mese. The oral report was presented to the UN Human Rights Council.
It notes that the commission continues to identify numerous evidence of war crimes by Russian military personnel in Ukraine, including illegal attacks with explosive weapons, torture, sexual and gender-based conditional violence, attacks on energy facilities.
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– The Commission is concerned about new evidence of war crimes committed by Russian armed forces in Ukraine, — stated Mese.
The commission conducted an investigation in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. The evidence collected indicates that theuse of torture by Russian soldiers was “widespread and systematic”.
The main victims of torture were people accused by the occupiers of they are informants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“In some cases, torture was used with such cruelty that it led to the death of the victims,” Mese emphasized.
Sometimes the captors used electric shock. UN experts cited testimony from victims.
– One victim who was subjected to electric shock stated: Every time I answered that I didn’t know or didn’t remember something, they beat me with electric shock… I don’t know, how long did this last? It seemed like an eternity to me,” the UN said.
In its report, the commission reported that in the Kherson region, Russian soldiers raped and sexually assaulted women aged 19 to 83 years. Such actions were often accompanied by “threats or other violations”.
“Often members of the same family were kept in the next room, so they were forced to listen to the violence occur,” Mese said.
The UN Commission continues to investigate situations “related to the probable removal by the Russian authorities of unaccompanied minors to Russia”. UN representatives expressed regret “due to the lack of clarity and transparency regarding information about the full number, circumstances and categories of children removed”.
In addition, the commission documented attacks by Russian troops on residential buildings, medical institution, train station, restaurant, shops and commercial warehouses, resulting in loss of life. The occupiers used explosive weapons.
Members of the UN commission expressed concern about accusations of genocide by Russian troops. Experts are continuing their investigation into this matter.
– For example, some statements made in Russian state and other media may constitute the crime of incitement to genocide, — clarified by the UN.
The new report of the UN commission is a continuation of previous reports. In early September, UN representatives stated that they had not yet found sufficient evidence that genocide was occurring in Ukraine.
