Worms and dog food eaten: Ukrainian prisoners of war are tortured for months. Serial killer appeared on television – while the search for him was underway

That’s what it’s about

Ukrainian soldiers in Russian captivity have been tortured for months, according to a UN report. The abuses were “appalling”, systematic and widespread, the UN Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry into Ukraine reported in Geneva on Friday.

This is how the prisoners are mistreated

It was said that POWs were regularly severely beaten and tortured with electric shocks, sometimes to the genitals.

In its most recent report, the committee described, among other things, the case of a man whose tailbone, collarbone and teeth were broken during his captivity. He also told UN experts that he had been beaten so severely that he bled from the anus. Out of desperation, the man tried to commit suicide. Since his release, he has had to undergo 36 operations.

Hunger leads to despair

According to the report, prisoners of war are held on Russian and Ukrainian territory for between 9 and 15 months. “The victims’ accounts reveal that they were brutally and mercilessly subjected to intense pain and suffering for almost the entire period of their captivity,” the report said. Prisoners would also go hungry and therefore eat worms, soap, paper and dog food in their distress.

These are war crimes

According to the committee, torture by Russian soldiers and prison officials constitutes war crimes. The report also describes torture and sexual crimes against Ukrainian citizens. In one case, a 42-year-old pregnant woman and her son’s 17-year-old girlfriend were raped by two Russian soldiers.

The committee also assessed the Russian military’s continued shelling of civilian buildings and killing of civilians in Ukraine as a violation of international humanitarian law. (rbu/sda/dpa)