Russia tortures & unlawfully detains civilians in occupied areas of southern Ukraine: HRW

In its latest report, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) revealed Russia is torturing and kidnappings Ukrainians in the occupied territories of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia amid the ongoing war in Kyiv. The report disclosed that there are over 40 cases where the Russian military could be involved in causing the disappearances of civilians. The human rights activists in their report also documented the torture of about three members of the Ukrainian territorial defense. While two of the three members reportedly died, several other people also spoke of sufferings in detention, saying that they were beaten with baseball bats and metal bars. 

“Russian forces have turned the occupied regions of southern Ukraine into an abyss of fear and wild lawlessness,” a senior expert at the human rights group on Ukraine, Yulia Gorbunova was quoted as saying by HRW. 

Notably, the people detained and tortured by Russian forces mainly included the organisers and participants of the anti-Russian protests, journalists and local officials. Further, HRW said that these unjustified arrests and illegal detention of civilians in Russian-occupied territories should be considered a war crime. "The purpose of the abuse appears to be to gain information and instill fear in people to come to terms with the occupation as Russia tries to assert its sovereignty over the occupied territories in violation of international law," said HRW.

Russia says 92 Ukrainians charged with 'crimes against humanity'

Meanwhile, the head of Russia's investigative committee, Alexander Bastrykin has charged 92 members of the Ukrainian armed forces with crimes against humanity, as per TASS. The Russian investigator also claimed that over 1,300 criminal investigations had been launched against the Ukrainian army personnel so far. At least 96 people, including 51 armed forces commanders, are also wanted in Moscow. "In the course of a preliminary investigation, over 220 people have been identified as being involved in the crimes against peace and security of mankind and this figure includes representatives of the Ukrainian military high command as well as commanders of military detachments, who bombarded civilians," Bastrykin said during an interview with Russia’s Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily.

On the other hand, Ukraine is also conducting investigations against Russia's war crimes. Earlier this month, it was reported that Ukraine was examining more than 21,000 war crimes and crimes of aggression allegedly committed by the Russian soldiers. However, Russia has denied all the allegations.