Torture chambers and systematic executions – on the other side of the river • Civilians live in fear
Russian forces abduct, torture and kill civilians living in villages in the occupied parts of Ukraine. In the Kherson region, on the eastern side of the Dnieper River, war crimes have been ongoing since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022 – and continue to do so to this day. The Kyiv Independent establishes this in the new documentary Shadows across the river.
The village of Hornostaivka has become a center of Russian occupation terror since its capture. Any of the residents can be a target.
According to the new Ukrainian documentary, Russian forces have set up a torture chamber in Hornostaivka, where hundreds of people may have been tortured. Many of the village’s residents have disappeared without a trace, such as Oleksandr Slisarenko, who was taken from his home by Russian forces in August 2022.
– They tied his hands and put him on his knees. They tortured him, they tormented him. The only thing I know is that he has been badly beaten, says Oleksandr’s wife Ludmila.
Arrested in front of his mother
He has been missing ever since.
Others have been tortured to death, such as 28-year-old Ruslan Rusnak, who was taken in November 2023.
The man was arrested in front of his mother. Eight days later, she identified his body at the morgue. In Shadows across the river, Raisa Rusnak speaks out about grief and anger.
– He lay down. His eyes were open. You could see his teeth. He must have died in such agony. I can’t even imagine what my child had to endure. I can only see him being killed, she says.
“It’s time, pray and say goodbye”
Kyiv Independent’s reporters describe the difficulty of monitoring the occupied parts of Ukraine, when you are not on the ground. But fragmentary reports of war crimes trickle out and there are dozens of testimonies to be had.
At the same time, there are many among those who have fled who do not dare to tell what is happening in the east. Many still have relatives in the area, whose lives are in constant danger.
Anonymously, they have managed to interview survivors, from the other side of the river Dnieper.
– They kidnapped, tortured and beat people, says one woman.
– They put a gun to my head and said: “It’s time, pray and say goodbye to life”, says one man.
September 17, 2022
Ukraine: “At least ten Russian torture chambers”
Report: Electric shocks and sexual crimes
A year ago, a UN report was released detailing the war crimes committed by Russian forces since the invasion of Ukraine. In the report, Ukrainians talk about torture chambers, electric shocks, beatings and sexual crimes.
Torture has occurred in all Russian detention centers, according to the UN Commission’s 455 interviews with witnesses and previously captured Ukrainians in occupied territory. Those affected have been accused by the Russian occupying power of having supported the defense of Ukraine.
Some have been held for long periods without adequate access to food. According to the testimonies in the report, Ukrainian prisoners have drunk water from elements or their own urine. Those who have been interrogated for a long time have emaciated, or as in one documented case, died of hunger and dehydration.