Members of a UN-mandated investigation committee revealed today, Monday, in their latest findings from the war front in Ukraine, that Russian occupiers have tortured Ukrainians so brutally that some victims died, and forced families to listen while women were raped nearby. The head of the investigation committee on Ukraine, Eric Mös, told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that his team "has gathered more evidence indicating that the use of torture by the Russian armed forces in the areas under their control was widespread and systematic." He added, "Torture was practiced in some cases so brutally that it led to the victim's death." He went on to say, "Russian soldiers committed crimes of rape and sexual violence against women aged between 19 and 83" in areas they occupied in the Kherson region.
Mös stated that often family members were detained and forced to hear the abuses taking place nearby. Russia denies committing any atrocities or targeting civilians in Ukraine. Mös mentioned that the committee's attempts to communicate with Russia have gone unanswered. Moscow was given an opportunity to respond to these accusations during a council session, but no representative from Russia attended. The Russian Defense Ministry has not yet responded to a request for comment.
In response to a question at a later press conference about the number of torture cases that led to death, committee member Pablo de Grief noted that it is impossible to know due to restrictions on entering the areas, but it is "a very high number... with cases from various regions across the country, both near and far from the front lines." The committee previously stated that the violations committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, including torture, could constitute crimes against humanity. Mös mentioned that the committee also observed "a few cases" of violations committed by Ukrainian forces, clarifying that these related to incidents of indiscriminate attacks and mistreatment of detained Russians. Kyiv stated earlier that it is verifying all information regarding the treatment of prisoners of war, will investigate any violations, and take appropriate legal actions.
