Current:Home > ContactRussians committing rape, 'widespread' torture against Ukrainians, UN report finds -Clarity Finance Guides
Russians committing rape, 'widespread' torture against Ukrainians, UN report finds
View
Date:2025-04-16 01:58:20
Russian forces are allegedly committing continuous war crimes in Ukraine, including rape and "widespread and systematic" torture, the latest Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine found.
The Russians are allegedly torturing people accused of being Ukrainian army informants in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, and in one case, the torture was so extreme that it caused a victim's death, the commission said in its latest report to the U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday.
MORE: It's a kayak with a grenade launcher. And it could be game-changer in Ukraine.
One torture survivor said, "Every time I answered that I didn't know or didn't remember something, they gave me electric shocks," according to the commission.
MORE: Bucha survivors recount 'senseless' horror as they emerge from hiding
"Well into the second year of the armed conflict, people in Ukraine have been continuing to cope with the loss and injury of loved ones, large-scale destruction, suffering and trauma as well as economic hardship that have resulted from it," Eric Mose, chair of the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, wrote in the report. "Thousands have been killed and injured, and millions remain internally displaced or out of the country."
In the Kherson region, members of the Russian forces allegedly sexually assaulted women as their relatives were forced to listen from nearby rooms, the commission said. Sexual assault victims ranged in age from 19 to 83.
The commission also found evidence of "unlawful attacks with explosive weapons," including attacks on residential buildings, shops, a restaurant and a medical facility.
Konstantin Yefremov, a senior Russian army lieutenant who fled Russia, told ABC News in February he witnessed his country's troops torture prisoners in Ukraine, including beating and threats to rape.
Yefremov, 33, spent three months as an officer in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region and said he personally witnessed the torture of Ukrainian prisoners during interrogations, including the shooting of one POW in the arms and legs and threats of rape.
The commission stressed "the need for accountability" for Russia's "scale and gravity of violations," as well as "the need for the Ukrainian authorities to expeditiously and thoroughly investigate the few cases of violations by its own forces."
ABC News' Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.
veryGood! (871)
Related
- Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
- Fijian prime minister ‘more comfortable dealing with traditional friends’ like Australia than China
- Trevor May rips Oakland A's owner John Fisher in retirement stream: 'Sell the team dude'
- 19 suspects go on trial in Paris in deaths of 39 migrants who suffocated in a truck in 2019
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- Hilariously short free kick among USMNT's four first-half goals vs. Ghana
- Indiana teacher who went missing in Puerto Rico presumed dead after body found
- Alec Baldwin has 'criminal culpability' in deadly 'Rust' shooting, prosecutors say
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- Towboat owner pleads guilty to pollution charge in oil spill along West Virginia-Kentucky border
Ranking
- Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
- Anchorage police investigate after razor blades are found twice near playground equipment
- Why the tunnels under Gaza pose a problem for Israel
- More US ships head toward Israel and 2,000 troops are on heightened alert. A look at US assistance
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- Staying in on Halloween? Here’s Everything You Need for a Spooky Night at Home
- A UNC student group gives away naloxone amid campus overdoses
- Lower house of Russian parliament votes to revoke ratification of global nuclear test ban
Recommendation
A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
Body of JJ Vallow, murdered son of 'Doomsday Mom' Lori Vallow, to be released to family
Put another nickel in: How Cincinnati helped make jukeboxes cool
Four killed in multicar crash on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu
Mets have visions of grandeur, and a dynasty, with Juan Soto as major catalyst
As Walter Isaacson and Michael Lewis wrote, their books' heroes became villains
Citibank employee fired after lying about having 2 coffees, sandwiches, and pastas alone
Horoscopes Today, October 17, 2023