Thanks to the joint actions of the prosecutor's office and law enforcement agencies, two Russian military personnel have been identified who tortured a police officer during the occupation of Izium in the Kharkiv region, and the guilt of another Russian National Guard member, who tortured and killed a civilian in occupied Kherson, has also been proven.

Torture of a police officer during the occupation of Izium

Under the procedural guidance of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, two servicemen of the 27th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 1st Tank Army of the Western Military District of Russia have been notified in absentia of suspicion of cruel treatment of the civilian population and other violations of the laws and customs of war, committed by a group of persons in conspiracy (Part 2 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The investigation established that in May 2022, during the occupation of Izium, the suspects captured a police officer who was in civilian clothes and forcibly took him to the basement of one of the garages. There, they tortured the man for several days.

The victim was subjected to numerous blows with hands and feet all over his body, tortured with electric current, strangled by putting a strap around his neck and cutting off his oxygen supply, and beaten with an iron rod and rubber truncheons. The occupiers inserted metal rods into his nose and ears.

When the victim lost consciousness from unbearable pain, they poured cold water on him to bring him back to his senses and continued the beating. The victim had his arm broken while trying to protect his head from blows.

In the intervals between beatings, the occupiers again demanded information, but upon receiving a refusal, they continued the torment. They took the officer outside, made him kneel, and beat him while pressing his head against the wall. 

Throughout this time, the victim was held without medical assistance, food, or water.

Later, the occupiers, promising to spare his life, demanded that the officer hand over his service weapon. Ultimately, under the threat of death, the victim was forced to reveal the location where he had hidden his service pistol. After that, he was released.

The suspects are wanted.

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by the Security Service of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region with operational support from the National Police's Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime.

Life imprisonment for the torture and murder of a civilian in Kherson

On the public prosecution of the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office, a serviceman of the Russian National Guard was found guilty of cruel treatment of the civilian population, combined with intentional murder, and other violations of the laws and customs of war, committed as part of a group of persons (Part 2 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 438; Part 2 of Article 28, Part 5 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

By the court's verdict, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Prosecutors proved that during the temporary occupation of Kherson, the convicted individual ensured the functioning of a place for the illegal detention of civilians, located in the premises of a temporary detention facility. The occupying forces used it as a torture chamber.

The convicted individual escorted illegally detained Ukrainians to interrogations, where they were systematically tortured. In June 2022, he facilitated the intentional murder of one of the detained Ukrainian citizens: he guarded the door of the cell to prevent the intervention of other prisoners or their escape. During this time, other Russian soldiers tortured the victim to death. Materials regarding two of them have been separated into a separate proceeding, and the indictments have already been sent to court.

A special pre-trial investigation was conducted by the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Kherson region.