Kyiv alleges Russia abused, tortured female Ukrainian soldiers while holding them captive

Latest reports suggest that Russian invaders tortured and mistreated Ukrainian female troops who had recently been liberated from Russian captivity. Liudmyla Denisova, who is Ukraine's Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights stated that among 86 released from Russian captivity were women who were tortured and mistreated. 

She also said that the women were taken to Belarus before being transferred to a pre-trial detention camp in Bryansk, Russia, where they were tortured and intimidated. They were also forced to undress in front of male guards, had their hair cut and were interrogated constantly in an attempt to break them mentally.

Denisova further claimed that female prisoners of war (POW) were forced to participate in the filming of propaganda reports, which required them to switch to Russian language. Ukraine's Parliament Commissioner also stated that Russia's actions are in violation of Geneva Convention Article 13, which emphasises the humane treatment of prisoners of war and that they must be protected at all times, especially from acts of violence or intimidation, as well as insults and public scrutiny.

UN Human Rights Council's committee to investigate crimes committed

Liudmyla Denisova has urged the UN Human Rights Council's committee to investigate crimes committed during Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, as well as the OSCE expert mission established under Moscow Mechanism to take these violations of Ukrainian prisoners of war into account.

Earlier on April 2, images of women POWs who were released from the Russian captive emerged, which showed that their heads were shaved. It was reported that the Russian forces shaved their heads while they were held captive. Liubov Tsybulska, an adviser to Ukraine's Foreign Ministry and General Staff, described the shaving of the women POWs' heads as a Nazi move, noting that even the Nazis shaved POWs' hair during World War II.

Mayor of a small town killed by Russian forces along with her family

In the meanwhile, Ukrainian officials stated that the mayor of a small town, as well as her husband and son, were killed by invading Russian forces that had held the area until recently. They said that Mayor Olga Sukhenko and her family were shot and dumped into a trench in woodland behind a block of land with numerous buildings in the town of Motyzhyn, according to CBS News.

Image: AP