Another torture center found in Kherson as pressure mounts for Ukrainian executions

First modification: 22/11/2022 – 22:36

As the Russian-Ukrainian conflict rages on in eastern Europe, the last hours of the conflict have been marked by cross accusations of war crimes, which were not ruled out by foreign authorities.

On the one hand, in Kherson, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced this Tuesday that they found a new torture chamber used during the stay of the invaders in the town; on the other, the pressure on kyiv is increasing due to “credible” denunciations -according to the United Nations- about summary executions of Russian troops who had laid down their arms.

“The Russian occupation forces established a torture chamber on the grounds of a recreation center in the town of Strilkove, in the Henischesk district,” the Army explained through social media.

According to the military command, this center was active until the last days of the occupation and there “Ukrainian citizens were detained and tortured, in violation of the norms of international humanitarian law and the laws and customs of war.”

This discovery comes days after four similar sites were revealed in Kherson buildings, where victims specified that they were subjected to different methods of harassment, such as electric shocks, direct blows, water immersion, or psychological violence.

Members of the region’s Prosecutor’s Office carried out inspections together with police officers and experts last Monday. There they searched rubber batons, wooden bats, electric shock devices, incandescent lamps, and bullets.

Suspicion rises over executions of unarmed Russian soldiers

After the Kremlin denounced the murder of a dozen soldiers who had surrendered, the international community is pressing for Ukraine to investigate the events. According to the United Nations, they have received “credible allegations” of war crimes perpetrated by local units.

Along those lines, the US envoy for war crimes said Monday that they were monitoring the allegations and if true, they would face appropriate consequences.

“Obviously we are following that very closely,” stressed Beth Van Schaack, the US ambassador general for global criminal justice.

The official stressed that “it is really important to emphasize that the laws of war apply to all parties equally” and that all those involved are obliged to “comply with international law or face the consequences.”

Ukraine’s deputy prime minister confirmed they will investigate the incidents, while human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said it was a “staged capture” and that the Russians attacked the Ukrainians.

This comes after videos surfaced showing invading soldiers on the ground after an apparent surrender. Seconds later, automatic shots ring out.

With EFE and Reuters