Current:Home > ContactRussians committing rape, 'widespread' torture against Ukrainians, UN report finds -Infinite Edge Capital
Russians committing rape, 'widespread' torture against Ukrainians, UN report finds
View
Date:2025-04-24 15:22:38
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! (768)
Related
- A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
- Bold and beautiful: James Wood’s debut latest dividend from Nationals' Juan Soto deal
- Ticketmaster confirms data breach, won't say how many North American customers compromised
- Naomi Osaka wins at Wimbledon for the first time in 6 years, and Coco Gauff moves on, too
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- Hunter Biden sues Fox News for publishing nude photos, videos of him in 'mock trial' show
- What we know about the fatal police shooting of a 13-year-old boy in upstate New York
- Sonic joins in on value menu movement: Cheeseburger, wraps, tots priced at $1.99
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- What we know about the fatal police shooting of a 13-year-old boy in upstate New York
Ranking
- Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
- What to put on a sunburn — and what doctors say to avoid
- Angela Simmons apologizes for controversial gun-shaped purse at BET Awards: 'I don't mean no harm'
- Melting of Alaska’s Juneau icefield accelerates, losing snow nearly 5 times faster than in the 1980s
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- Attorneys face deadline to wrap Jan. 6 prosecutions. That could slide if Trump wins
- Senator wants Washington Commanders to pay tribute to an old logo that offends many Indigenous
- Supreme Court agrees to review Texas age verification law for porn sites
Recommendation
Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
Video shows man leave toddler on side of the road following suspected carjacking: Watch
Darrell Christian, former AP managing editor and sports editor, dies at 75
Badminton Star Zhang Zhijie Dead At 17 After Collapsing On Court During Match
In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
Hunter Biden sues Fox News for publishing nude photos, videos of him in 'mock trial' show
Supreme Court orders new look at social media laws in Texas and Florida
Rainbow Family still searching for Northern California meeting site for '10,000 hippies'