An investigation by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has uncovered the identity of a Ukrainian collaborator responsible for the kidnapping and torture of civilians in Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast, the SBU announced on Oct. 9.
Serhii Berozin has collaborated with Russia since 2014, when he joined the so-called "Internal Ministry" of the Russian proxy authorities in his hometown of Donetsk, according to the SBU.
After the full-scale Russian invasion and occupation of most of Kherson Oblast, he became the head of a district of the Russian-controlled police department of Kakhovka, a port city on the Dnipro River which is still occupied today.
In this role, he gives orders to kidnap and interrogate local residents in Russian torture camps, the SBU suspects.
"People are subjected to brutal torture," the SBU said, as Russian forces "try to break their resistance and make them cooperate."
Although Berozin is currently located in an area of Ukraine that has not yet been liberated from Russian control, "comprehensive measures are being taken to bring him to justice," the SBU said.
Martin Fornusek
