UN has new evidence of mass torture of Ukrainians by Russians

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry into violations in Ukraine has found new evidence of the widespread practice of mass torture of Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war by Russians.

The Russian authorities use torture against Ukrainians both in the temporarily occupied territories and in Russia itself.

This is stated in the Commission’s new report, which was published on September 23 on the official UN website.

The report states that the wide geographical coverage and widespread patterns of torture against Ukrainians demonstrate that torture was carried out as a common and acceptable practice with a sense of impunity.

It is noted that the Commission’s further investigation of torture cases shows that the Russian authorities used torture in the regions of Ukraine that they currently temporarily control. Also, the new evidence confirms the Commission’s previous conclusion that “torture committed by the Russian authorities was widespread.”

“The Commission has identified additional common elements in the use of torture by Russian authorities, reinforcing its earlier finding that this was systematic. One element is the consistency of violent practices imposed in detention centers where detainees from Ukraine have been held in the Russian Federation, and the replication of these practices in several large penitentiary centers in occupied areas of Ukraine,” the report says.

The Commission noted that another common element emerging from the evidence points towards a coordinated use of personnel from specific services of the Russian Federation involved in torture in all the detention facilities investigated by the Commission.

In addition, it is noted that the systematic use of sexual violence against men in the Russian Federation “is also used as a method of torture, which is observed in almost all of these places of detention.”

The Commission also considers the testimonies of former prisoners about prison staff in Russia, which point to orders for ill-treatment.

“Testimonies also illustrate that in some detention facilities, higher ranking Russian authorities ordered, tolerated, or took no action to stop such treatment,” the UN report says.

The Commission has also continued its documentation of attacks with explosive weapons affecting civilian objects in populated areas with devastating consequences. It investigated attacks that struck medical institutions, cultural objects, residential buildings, and supermarkets in territories under Ukrainian Government control.

“Pursuing its investigation of the Russian Federation’s large-scale waves of attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure — some of which have resulted in power outages affecting millions of civilians — the Commission has found new evidence of the impact of such attacks on the health and well-being of the population,” the report says.