Russia uses 695 forms of torture against Ukrainian prisoners; 406 people tortured to death

Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, has reported that Russia is using 695 different forms of torture against Ukrainian prisoners of war. Russia has already tortured 406 Ukrainian captives to death.

Source: Lubinets during the presentation of the Made in Russia. Delivered into Captivity project, as cited by Ukrinform

Quote: "Today, within this project, we officially record that, according to our data, the Russian Federation uses 695 various forms of torture, including physical and psychological abuse, as well as sexual violence. Prisoners of war are strangled, beaten, subjected to electric shocks, set upon by dogs and sometimes forced to stand in one place for up to 18 hours; as soon as you start to squat, you are immediately physically beaten.

One of the types of torture is the so-called 'hairdresser', when during shaving they deliberately cut off not only hair but also pieces of skin from the scalp. If a person starts screaming, they are immediately beaten again and subjected to electric shocks."

Details: Lubinets noted that poor detention conditions and torture are systematic with regard to Ukrainian prisoners of war. This includes unsanitary conditions and starvation used as a method of coercion. In total, 860 cases of improper detention conditions have been recorded.

Lubinets also reported that international partners have identified 29 detention sites, 18 on the territory of the Russian Federation and 11 in temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine. Meanwhile, as he said, Ukrainian intelligence agencies have verified 186 locations where Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian hostages are held, covering the entire territory of Russia and the temporarily occupied territories. In addition, detention facilities are located in Siberia. According to Lubinets, conditions in these places are almost identical and unsuitable for the civilised detention of prisoners.

Lubinets also stated that the Russian Federation has tortured to death 406 Ukrainian citizens who had confirmed prisoner-of-war status.

The commissioner stressed that the weak international response to the documented systematic torture signals to Russia that it can continue such actions with impunity. In particular, Lubinets criticised the position of the International Committee of the Red Cross: their representatives were invited to the event, but none attended.

Quote: "We sent them separate invitations. They are not in the hall. They do not want to once again hear that there is a problem with the fulfilment of their mandate. There is. We understand that first and foremost this is the position of the Russian Federation. But what additional steps are you taking to change this position? What? Just negotiations? They may yield results, but certainly not the ones we expect. As for the prisoners of war among the defenders of Mariupol: Olenivka – everyone knows that the Russians did it. Fifty-three men, verified by the ICRC as prisoners of war, were killed, more than 130 were injured. Where is the response? There is none. And there will be none unless we all understand that we must apply pressure now, demand accountability, and do everything to ensure that every representative of the Russian Federation is brought to justice."

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