MARKO DJURICA
While Russian authorities have repeatedly claimed to be “rescuing” Ukrainian civilians in the territories they seize control of, those who survived Russia’s occupation of Kherson say troops systematically tortured civilians—sometimes to death.
Thirty four people interviewed by Human Rights Watch after Russian forces withdrew from the area last November described a slew of torture sites throughout the region, according to a new report released Thursday. Their accounts are just the latest in a rapidly growing list of war crimes allegations that include rape, torture, forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and a genocidal campaign to wipe out the Ukrainian identity.
Agents from Russia’s Federal Security Service were present for much of the torture, survivors said, and the violence went hand in hand with an attempt to force victims to embrace their new “Russian world.”