Nine Russian soldiers held 11 civilians in devastating conditions for over ten days in 2022. Ukrainian prosecutors have identified them and filed charges with the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Russia has started its mass terror campaign with atrocities in Kyiv Oblast in 2022, including during widespread killings of civilians in Bucha. Since then, Moscow has continued targeting Ukrainians and has not stopped yet, shifting to drone and missile attacks.
Among the Ukrainian civilians tortured by the Russians were children and elderly people.
According to the investigation, on 27 March 2022, in the village of Andriivka in Bucha district, a Russian commander and a sergeant detained and beat two local residents.
“The occupiers beat them and then unlawfully detained them in a garage together with four other civilians,” the statement reads.
One of the detainees was interrogated with at least five blows to his back, several strikes to his abdomen, and was hit on the head with the back of an axe.
Also, on 25 February 2022, in the village of Vyshhorod in Bucha district, seven Russian soldiers unlawfully detained 11 civilians.
“Among the hostages were children aged 11 and 13, as well as elderly people aged 61 and 79,” the prosecutors note.
The occupiers forcibly locked the people in a cellar unfit for prolonged stay, lacking light, heating, water, or sanitation.
“The Russian military held the victims in the cellar for more than 10 days, allowing only two women to go out once a day,” the agency reported.
The suspects’ actions have been classified as cruel treatment of civilians and other violations of the laws and customs of war.