Ukrainian soldiers point to the tortures they have suffered

Months of Russian occupation have been very difficult for residents of the Ukrainian town of Izium, located in the Kharkivi region. Russian forces towed many, indiscriminately, soldiers or civilians. Some of them confess the severe torture they have experienced.

Izzyum, Ukrainian soldiers show the torture they've been through
In Izzyum, a city currently under Kiev's control, Russian forces tortured many people, including soldiers and civilians. Based on the confessions of the inhabitants, ten locations have been discovered in the city for torture.

Former soldier Mykola Mosaykyn says a medical clinic had returned to a place where he and many others were tortured.

I was tortured here with electricity. This is where we were beaten”, the former soldier shows.

When Ukrainian forces recovered the city of Izzyum, they discovered hundreds of graves. Many of the victims were previously tortured.

I've been hung up. They beat me with sticks and turned my cigarette off. I was forced to dance. Then they covered my face with a garment and poured water on me. They hit me with an electric power of”, shows the ex-military, resident of Izium.

Andriy Kotsar was caught shortly after he joined the Ukrainian Army, and he also spent time one of the places used for torture in this city.

They hit my kidneys and my back. They tried to keep me from leaving”, the young man relates.

Russian soldiers took his passport and military identification and let him go. He settled in a church, where about 100 other people, including 40 children, had been sheltered.

Ivan Shabelnyk, who lived in Izzyum, left home with a friend on March 23rd to cut wood in the mountain.

They never came back. Ludmila Shabelnyk was able to identify her son from his clothes. Russian forces had tortured them and thrown them into a mass grave.

Someone told me it would be hard to identify. He was tied up and shot closely. His ribs had been broken, and his face was damaged”, says Ludmila.

From the mass exhumation found in a forest in this city, at least 30 out of the 447 bodies found had visible marks of torture, bound hands, gunshot wounds caused by a nearby distance, stab wounds and broken limbs, according to Kharkiv region prosecution.

Izzyum was under Russian occupation for almost six months. Since the Russian attack on Ukraine, the city was targeted by almost 500 air strikes. He was attacked by more air than any other city in Ukraine. 90 percent of town destroyed.