Russia tortured Ukrainian kids at four abuse centres, say investigators

Kyiv: Ukrainian children were allegedly tortured by Russian troops as Kyiv investigators claim to have found evidence in an area recaptured from Putin’s soldiers. The investigators uncovered a cell where minors were detained and mistreated.

The cell was found for the first time in Kherson – a city in southern Ukraine, said Dmytro Lubinets, Human Rights Commissioner for Ukraine’s Parliament, who added that the cell was in one of the four torture centres operated by Russian troops.

He further said that the conditions of the cell were “worse than sites of confinement investigated in other recaptured areas.”

‘Children cell’ in Kherson

Briefing journalists, Dmytro Lubinets said: “We found 10 torture chambers in Kherson region, four in the city of Kherson. In one of the torture chambers we found a separate room, a cell where children were kept … even the occupiers called it that, a children’s cell.”

Notably, Russia has been persistently denying targeting civilians in the war and rejects allegations it has mistreated civilians. But the latest evidences differ, with Lubinets saying the cell differed from adjacent rooms only in that Moscow troops placed thin mats on the floor.

No water for children

“We have documented that the children were not provided with water, were given water every other day. They were practically not given food,” Lubinets said.

“They used psychological pressure. They told them their parents had abandoned them and would not return,” he said.

“We saw the rock bottom in Kherson,” he said, adding, “I thought that the bottom could not be broken after Bucha, Irpin… but we really reached the bottom in Kherson.”

Some children claimed that they were forced to clean up blood from an adjacent torture room used for detained Ukrainian adults.

Lubinets said a 14-year-old boy was detained for taking pictures of damaged Russian military equipment.

“These were children who, in the eyes of the invaders, were resisting,” he added.

Condition of children in Ukraine

As per the official figures by the government, an estimated 443 children have been killed so far in the Ukraine war, and more than 855 injured.

Also, widespread acts of rape and torture committed by Russian soldiers have been reported across Ukraine.

Lubinets said that about 12,000 Ukrainian children had been taken to Russia since the invasion began on 24 February, including 8,600 taken by force.

With inputs from agencies

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