Over 100 Russian torture chambers found in liberated Ukrainian territories, Prosecutor General reports
Attorney General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin (Photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
In all territories of Ukraine liberated by the Defense Forces from Russian occupiers, places of illegal detention of civilians and instances of torture have been discovered. In total, 104 facilities have been found across 8 regions of the country, reports the prosecutor General of Ukraine, Andriy Kostin.
He mentions that the largest number of detention centers were discovered in the Kharkiv region, totaling 25. Among other regions with a significant number of similar places are the Zaporizhzhia region with 18, the Kherson region with 11, and the Donetsk region with 10.
Additionally, information about 19 detention centers within the territory of the Russian Federation is known, adds the Prosecutor General during his speech at the Freedom or Fear conference.
"90% of captives and detainees are subjected to torture or some form of violence, whether physical or psychological. Torture in Russia is not the excess of an executioner. It is a planned state policy," Kostin notes.
The Prosecutor General also emphasizes that while there are international legal mechanisms for the return of prisoners of war, such mechanisms are absent for civilians and deported children.
Abduction of Ukrainians and deportation to Russia
During the full-scale war against Ukraine, Russian occupiers regularly commit war crimes. According to Ukrainian sources, around 20,000 minors were taken to Russia or the territory controlled by the occupiers without the consent of their families or guardians.
Ukraine defines this act as a war crime, corresponding to the definition of genocide in the UN treaty.
Recently, a United Nations investigative commission stated that they found additional evidence of Russian military aggression and war crimes in Ukraine, including rape and deportation of children to Russia.
As mentioned by the Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament), Dmytro Lubinets, on December 7, there were 28,000 Ukrainian civilians in Russian captivity. Additionally, the deportation of 19,540 Ukrainian children has been officially confirmed.
