Despite international accusations, Moscow denies committing atrocities in occupied territories. But after the withdrawal of Russian troops from Cherson, Ukrainian investigators again report corpses with signs of torture. A total of 436 cases of war crimes were uncovered.
Around a week after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the southern Ukrainian region of Cherson, investigators discovered 63 bodies with signs of torture, according to the government. However, the investigations are only just beginning, said Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyj, according to the domestic news agency Interfax Ukraine.
Law enforcement agencies documented 436 cases of war crimes during the Russian occupation. Eleven places of detention were found, including four where torture had taken place. "The investigators are in the process of examining them and recording every case of torture. The bodies of the dead are also being exhumed," said Monastyrskyj.
A representative of the Kherson prosecutor's office told the New York Times that testimonies had been collected on 800 arrests by Russian troops in the region. The most common forms of abuse were electric shocks, beatings with plastic or rubber truncheons, and the cutting off of the breathing tube of a gas mask that was pulled over the heads of prisoners. Ukraine and international investigators accuse Russia of war crimes in occupied territories.
Russia denies its troops have targeted civilians and committed atrocities. Mass graves were found in other areas previously occupied by Russian troops, including some containing the bodies of civilians showing signs of torture.
