Russians hold over 10,000 Ukrainian civilians and 5,600 people have been tortured by them

More than 10,000 civilian Ukrainians are being held by the Russians in temporarily occupied territories and in Russia. Moreover, 5,600 Ukrainians have been identified in criminal cases as victims of torture by the Russians; however, the real number is much higher.

Source: Andrii Kostin, Prosecutor General of Ukraine, in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine

Quote: "There are different figures. We estimate tens of thousands, more than 10,000 for sure. We are talking only about those who were forcibly relocated, not about those who made this decision at their own discretion."

Details: As for the creation of a register of civilian prisoners, Kostin said that such work is being carried out at the government level.

In Kostin’s opinion, a UN General Assembly resolution on this issue would be very important, "so that we can use other elements of communication and pressure on the aggressor country to release our civilians and bring them back to Ukraine."

Kostin added that, for his part, prosecutors, together with law enforcement agencies, are bringing to justice those responsible for the deportation of civilians and their illegal detention in temporarily occupied territories and in Russia.

Answering the question of whether it is possible to establish at least an approximate ratio of those who voluntarily moved to the Russian land and those who were forced to and are now in prison, Kostin said: "When we talk about occupied territories, the word 'voluntarily' is inappropriate. Some people are forced to leave because of attacks; others are promised material assistance and illusory security. But any action taken under such pressure is not voluntary. For some, the only way to come back to Ukraine is to get out through Russia; there are many such cases."

Speaking about the number of victims of torture and inhuman treatment, Kostin said that in criminal cases alone, 5,600 Ukrainians have been identified as victims of this type of war crime committed by the Russian Federation.

"However, the full figures may be much higher, as we do not have reliable information from occupied territories," he added.

He said that 164 torture chambers and other places of forced detention have been documented in liberated territories.

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