Wife Details How Husband Was Tortured, Murdered By Russian Soldiers

KEY POINTS

A retired teacher in southern Ukraine was singled out by some of his pro-Russian neighbors, his wife says
Russian soldiers took the elderly man away from his home and shot him while he was still alive
The victim's body was later found under a mattress in a ditch with signs of torture

Invading Russian troops tortured and killed a retired teacher in southern Ukraine, the victim's family alleged.

Russian soldiers hunted down and took away the man, identified as Sirgey, following their arrival at a village in Ukraine's Mykolaiv district, CNN reported.

Villagers found Sirgey’s corpse dumped in a ditch under a mattress days later.

"He was shot apparently when he was still alive. There were holes," said Tatiana Bozko, Sirgey's wife.

The elderly man's body showed signs of torture such as mangled hands, bruises to the sides and apparent cuts, according to the outlet.

"He was beaten up. It was so scary," Bozko told CNN's Sara Sidner in an interview.

Bozko now believes her husband, a pro-Ukrainian retiree who previously worked at the village school, was singled out by pro-Russian neighbors.

"He was very kind. He was very cheerful. He didn't do any harm to anyone in the village. He was only hated by Russian sympathizers," said the widow, who is also a retired teacher in her 60s.

Ukrainian forces have since beaten back the Russians from Bozko's village, but she now lives with terrible thoughts of her husband's last moments.

Russians showed up in her small farming village and snatched her husband. Villagers found his dead body days later mutilated. This is life near the front line in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. He was a retired teacher who loved Ukraine.
Our second story from the front. #UkraineUnderAttack https://t.co/zOlF3ZJETV
— Sara Sidner (@sarasidnerCNN) May 30, 2022

Russian artillery struck the hangar of a shipbuilding facility in Mykolaiv's Okean Shipyard, destroying vehicles and other equipment, Russia's defense ministry said Monday, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, a Russian rocket attack destroyed a mobile anti-drone system near the settlement of Hannivka, said Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Ministry of Defence.

Russian troops also shelled residential buildings in Mykolaiv Saturday, the Kyiv Independent reported.

The "extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity" that was "carried out unlawfully and wantonly" is considered a war crime under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Any intentional direct attacks against non-military civilian populations and/or objects are also war crimes.

Russia in the past denied attacking civilians in its invasion of Ukraine.

"Most" of the 8,900 civilian casualties reported in the ongoing conflict were caused by "the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rockets systems" as well as missile and air strikes, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a report.