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Russia May Have Had Torture Chambers in Ukraine

Soldiers with the Ukrainian army’s 1st Battalion, 95th Separate Airmobile Brigade train with a DShK 12 mm machine gun during their training cycle at the Yavoriv Combat Training Center on the International Peacekeeping and Security Center near Yavoriv, Ukraine on Sept. 6. Yavoriv CTC Observer Coach Trainers, along with mentors from the Polish army and the U.S. Army's 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, led the training for soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 95th Separate Airmobile Brigade during the battalion's rotation through the Yavoriv CTC. The 45th is deployed to Ukraine as part of the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine, an international coalition dedicated to improving the CTC's training capacity and building professionalism within the Ukrainian army. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Eric McDonough, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team)
Soldiers with the Ukrainian army’s 1st Battalion, 95th Separate Airmobile Brigade train with a DShK 12 mm machine gun during their training cycle at the Yavoriv Combat Training Center on the International Peacekeeping and Security Center near Yavoriv, Ukraine on Sept. 6. Yavoriv CTC Observer Coach Trainers, along with mentors from the Polish army and the U.S. Army's 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, led the training for soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 95th Separate Airmobile Brigade during the battalion's rotation through the Yavoriv CTC. The 45th is deployed to Ukraine as part of the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine, an international coalition dedicated to improving the CTC's training capacity and building professionalism within the Ukrainian army. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Eric McDonough, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team)

Police Allegedly Discover Russian “Torture Chambers” In Liberated Ukrainian City – Following the Ukrainian military’s successful offensive in Kharkiv and the liberation of many of the region’s towns and cities, one Ukrainian official revealed this week that the Russian military was torturing and holding people captive in the city of Balaklia.

In a Facebook post, Kharkiv Oblast Deputy Police Chief Serhii Bolvinov claimed that the Russians were holding as many as 40 people captive at the same time in the city, and torturing those who were held captive.

“In the recently occupied Balaklia, the police department of Rasists organized a headquarters. But it’s not the worst – there, in the department’s basements and in the building opposite – BalDruku Russians made a prison and torture for locals,” the Facebook post reads.

Bolvinov claimed that during the occupation of the city, the Russians “always held at least 40 people captive,” feeding them only porridge twice a day.

The Ukrainian official claimed that Russian soldiers were searching for local collaborators or anybody with family who served in the Ukrainian army. Bolvinov also claimed that Russian soldiers held one man in the makeshift prison for 46 days after they found a photograph of his brother in a Ukrainian military uniform.

“According to witnesses, they were tortured differently. All torture describe won’t, I’ll only say that ‘the easiest’ is when they were electrocuted,” Bolvinov added, painting a disturbing picture of brutality for those identified as supporters of the Kyiv government.

19FortyFive cannot verify these claims, but it’s not the first time we’ve heard stories of Russian soldiers torturing Ukrainian civilians.

Accusations Go Back Throughout Ukraine Invasion

In June, Kyiv’s representative to Crimea, Tamila Tasheva, claimed that 600 Ukrainian jouranlists, activists, and prisoners of war were being held in “torture chambers” in the city of Kherson in southeastern Ukraine.

“According to our information, in the Kherson region there are about 600 people who are in basements, in specially equipped rooms, in torture chambers,” Tasheva said.

In July, a report from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) described “clear patterns of serious violations of international humanitarian law” committed mostly by the Russian army in Ukraine. The report offered details of the alleged torture of prisoners of war across occupied regions of Ukraine and offered specific details of abuses documented in the Bucha district.

“In Zabuchchya, a village in the Bucha district, 18 mutilated bodies of murdered men, women, and children were discovered in a basement: some had their ears cut off, while others had their teeth pulled out,” the report explained.

Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Image Credit: Russian Government.

New reports of torture by the Russian military in Ukraine will be documented as part of an international investigation into war crimes allegedly committed by the Russian military throughout the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.

Written By

Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive's Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.

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