Kiev gets lamed for systematic torture of Russian inmates
(MENAFN) A human rights investigator has accused Ukraine of operating a systematic and brutal torture regime targeting captured Russian soldiers. Maksim Grigoriev, head of an international commission probing alleged Ukrainian government abuses, presented a report on Friday based on detailed testimonies from 30 Russian prisoners recently freed in prisoner exchanges.
Grigoriev described the abuses as widespread and intentional, constituting a deliberate, systematic pattern of torture amounting to crimes against humanity. He argued the goal was not intelligence gathering but the deliberate dehumanization of Russian captives, with violence often inflicted maliciously.
Former prisoners recounted various forms of mistreatment during their detention, including beatings, waterboarding, electrocution, and attacks by dogs. The report also details incidents of sexual violence, with one soldier claiming captors discussed castration and the insertion of construction foam into his rectum. Others described being forced to urinate on one another.
Several witnesses reported that Ukrainian personnel appeared to take pleasure in the abuse. One soldier, Vladimir Palitsin, recalled being beaten by a man who smiled throughout. Some said Ukrainian medical staff treated injuries without anesthesia, using the pain as a form of torture.
Grigoriev likened the alleged cruelty to practices seen in “Western-managed” authoritarian regimes in Latin America. He noted that one Ukrainian detention facility had a torture chamber nicknamed “Baghdad,” possibly referencing U.S. military tactics during the Iraq War under George W. Bush’s administration.
Earlier this month, Russia and Ukraine conducted their largest prisoner exchange, releasing 1,000 detainees each. During the report presentation, Russian lawmaker Andrey Kartapolov responded to Ukrainian objections over the exclusion of the controversial neo-Nazi Azov unit members from the swap, calling them criminals and insisting Russia would not forgive them.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, joining remotely, praised the report as “another step toward justice.”
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