The UN's independent international commission investigating violations in Ukraine has discovered new evidence of war crimes by the Russian army in the occupied territories of Ukraine, as well as against Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The UN recorded the torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war
The head of the UN Independent International Commission to Investigate Violations in Ukraine, Erik Møse, said this during the presentation of the Commission's report.
The Commission noted that the Russian military "violated human rights and international humanitarian law, as well as committed war crimes in areas of Ukraine under Russian control."
We also know about the torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war and cases of their severe torture in places of deprivation of liberty in the Russian Federation: they were subjected to severe pain and suffering during prolonged detention, with flagrant disregard for human dignity, resulting in physical and mental injuries.
Erik Møse
Chairman of the UN Independent International Commission
Erik Møse added that "one Ukrainian soldier, who was detained and tortured by the Russian authorities in several places of deprivation of liberty, spoke about his experience in a correctional colony in the city of Donska, Tula region, where he was repeatedly tortured, leaving him with broken bones, knocked out teeth and gangrene on the wounded legs".
The soldier said that he lost all hope and desire to live, adding that he tried to commit suicide. After his release, he was hospitalised 36 times.
War crimes of the Russian Federation in Mariupol
According to Mose, at least 58 medical infrastructure buildings and 11 power plants were damaged or destroyed in Mariupol.
Local residents spoke of the excruciating suffering they endured during the continuous shelling and aerial bombardment that resulted in mass casualties and injuries, Erik Møse said.
People whom the Commission interviewed told about a vast number of corpses lying right in the middle of the streets, in the rubble of their houses and hospitals, the head of the UN Independent International Commission clarified.
