Ukrainian prisoners of war have detailed their experiences of torture and abuse while in the hands of Russian forces, and their families have described the weeks of not knowing whether they were alive or dead as “hell on earth”, according to The Guardian. Quoting The Hill.
War in Ukraine: June 29, 2022, Ukraine and Russia exchange prisonersPhoto: EyePress News / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia Images
American newspaper the mountain He spoke with several former prisoners of war and their families who have been captured by Russian forces since Moscow launched its military invasion of Ukraine.
One of these ex-POWs, 55-year-old Igor Kurayan, said he was repeatedly beaten and electrocuted during his weeks in a Russian prison.
Russian soldiers twisted and cut his fingers with pliers and scissors to cut metal, he said.
Other prisoners were beaten so badly that they died, the person added.
An interpreter explained Gurayan’s statements to the newspaper: Every day he was called to torture, and they wanted him to hand them over to his friends.
Anjelika Todorashko, 32, said her mother, Victoria, 52, had been caught since February because she served in the Ukrainian army. She was taken to Russia, where she says she was electrocuted, photographed naked, given little water and food, and heard the screams of other prisoners.
Russian soldiers humiliated the prisoners, forcing the captives to hold their hands above their heads for hours a day, according to his mother Todorashko. If their hands fell, they were beaten, she says. The soldiers also laughed at the women and choked some.
His mother was released after weeks of captivity and then taken to a Ukrainian hospital, The Hill reported.
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