Mock executions, electroshock, rape: Enemy tortures Ukrainian POWs at all stages of captivity, - UN

Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians are systematically tortured at all stages of their stay in Russian captivity.

According to Censor.NET, this is stated in the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Recorded cases

According to it, the Russian authorities regularly torture and ill-treat Ukrainian prisoners of war.

According to 169 out of 174 interviewed POWs provided to OHCHR, such abuse is widespread during interrogation, admission to detention facilities and daily internment procedures. Their testimonies were corroborated by other sources of information.

Torture includes beatings, electric shocks, sexual violence, suffocation, prolonged strenuous positions, forced physical exertion, sleep deprivation, mock executions, and threats.

"The occupation authorities in Kherson have repeatedly subjected the man to beatings, suffocation, waterboarding, electric shocks, including on the genitals, and threats of castration since his detention in September 2022. They also raped the man with a metal object and simultaneously applied electric shocks to his anus and genitals," the UN report says.

The report emphasizes that many of the documented cases of torture or ill-treatment involve employees of different state institutions, often indicating a significant level of coordination between them.

In addition, it is noted that the wardens in the places of detention were aware of such treatment and had the opportunity to prevent it.

The report also refers to public calls by Russian officials for the ill-treatment and execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war.