Russian Soldiers Brought Ukrainians Across Border For Torture And Returned Them Home: Police

20. BUCHA, UKRAINE - APRIL 23: (EDITORS NOTE: Image contains graphic content) Ukrainian morticians look at body bags full of corpses, as a morgue overflows with victims who died during the Russian military presence in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, on April 23, 2022. Ukrainian officials and volunteers are beginning the work of identifying the dead and gathering evidence for war crimes accusations, and say that more than 1,000 civilians lost their lives when Russian troops occupied districts northwest of the capital for weeks after a February 24 invasion. Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images

KEY POINTS

Ukrainian authorities recovered the bodies of two Ukrainian soldiers who were tortured to death
The soldiers may have been tortured in Russia before their bodies were returned to Ukraine
Russian forces have also been accused of torturing Ukrainian police officers and emergency workers

Russian forces have been accused of bringing Ukrainian captives to Russia for torture and then returning the victims back to Ukraine dead.

Ukrainian authorities a few days ago were able to recover the bodies of two Ukrainian soldiers who were tortured to death, Interfax-Ukraine reported Thursday, citing Volodymyr Tymoshko, the head of police in Ukraine's partially Russian-occupied Kharkiv region.

The soldiers had been brought to the neighboring Russian region of Belgorod before their bodies were returned to Ukraine, according to Tymoshko.

"[M]ost probably, they were tortured in the Russian Federation," the police chief said.

Ukrainian policemen who remained in Russian-occupied territories were also tortured, he alleged.

"We have workers who are victims, who were tortured, kept in pits, etc.," Tymoshko claimed.

Russian forces allegedly have a place in the town of Shebekino in Belgorod where Ukrainian military personnel and police officers are being held captive, he said.

A total of 15 Ukrainian emergency workers in Kharkiv have been tortured as well, according to Oleksandr Volobuyev, the head of the Main Department of the State Emergency Service in the region.

Among those tortured, eight were from a fire rescue unit based in the city of Balakliya, three from the settlement of Kozacha Lopan and the remaining four were from the city of Vovchansk, Volobuyev said.

"Other employees were also threatened, constantly intimidated [and] checked," he added.

"Torture or inhuman treatment" and "willfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health" in conflicts are considered war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The "cruel treatment and torture" of non-combatants and military captives during conflicts are also prohibited under the Geneva Conventions.

Ukrainian law enforcement officers have established 22 places in liberated areas of Kharkiv where Russian occupiers arranged torture, Tymoshko revealed.

The torture chambers were reportedly found in Borova, Izium, Kozacha Lopan, Kupiansk, Liptsy, Pisky-Radkivski, Shevchenkiv, Velykyi Burluk and Vovchansk.

Ukrainian authorities are now trying to identify the people who went through the torture chambers with the help of the victims and witness testimonies, according to Tymoshko.

However, it is currently impossible to name the total number of individuals who passed through the chambers since some are still in Russia, the Kharkiv police head noted.