Electric shock, beating, choking — Russian commander tortured civilians in occupied Oleshky, prosecutors say

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has completed its pre-trial investigation into a Russian commander accused of torturing two civilians in occupied Oleshky and sent the indictment to court, the Kherson Oblast Prosecutor's Office reported on Nov. 12.

Following Russia's destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in June 2023, a 33-year-old commander of a reconnaissance platoon from Russia's 247th Air Assault Regiment, together with other Russian servicemen, was patrolling the flooded area of Russian-occupied Oleshky, a front-line city in Kherson Oblast, the regional Prosecutor's Office said.

The Russian soldiers detained two unarmed local residents in June that year. The civilians were taken to a ninth-floor apartment where they endured ten days of torture in dire conditions, deprived of sufficient food, water, and basic sanitation, according to the prosecutors.

One of the victims was subjected to brutal interrogations on a daily basis as he was beaten and tortured with electric shocks, with wires attached to his fingers. A Russian commander demanded details from the man about local volunteers.

"To intensify the pain, a damp cloth was placed under his feet. During one of the interrogations, the defendant wrapped an electric cable around his neck and strangled him until he lost consciousness," the Kherson Oblast Prosecutor's Office said.

Another man accused of mapping the Russian army's firing positions was tortured to extract information about the alleged intelligence being passed to the Ukrainian army.

He endured electric shocks and beatings, resulting in serious injuries, including fractures of 11 ribs, his sternum, and his jaw. Due to inadequate medical care, his wounds became infected, leading to gangrene and the amputation of a finger.

According to the investigation conducted by the SBU in collaboration with the Kherson Oblast Prosecutor's Office and with support from the State Border Guard Service's 79th Border Detachment, the commander of a reconnaissance platoon from Russia's 247th Air Assault Regiment has been charged with cruel treatment of civilians and other violations of the laws and customs of war.

Some Oleshky residents told the Kyiv Independent that they were also tortured by Russian soldiers. Olha Liutikova and Serhii Samarsky were held by Russian forces in a basement for three days in the early months of the occupation.

"(They interrogated us) because we wanted to live in Ukraine," Liutikova said. "It's a miracle (they let us go)."

The case comes as Ukraine marks four years since the liberation of Kherson on Nov. 11, 2022.

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion and the liberation of Kherson from Russian troops on Nov. 11, 2022, more than 55,000 criminal offenses against peace, human security, and Ukraine's national security were registered in Kherson Oblast, the Prosecutor General's Office said on Nov. 11.

More than 52,000 of the recorded offenses concern Russia's crimes against peace and human security, including war crimes such as deliberate attacks on civilians, unlawful detention, torture, and other violations of international humanitarian law.