March 29, 2024

The current relative lull in the fighting zone in East of Ukraine does not mean that military conflict is on the way to its end.

Likewise, since the end of “hot phase” there has been revealed more information about the crimes, committed by illegal armed formations under Russia’s control, and by Russian military servants presented there.

Unacceptable conditions of prisoners of war keeping, physical and psychological abuse, medieval tortures — that is what going on in the territories of Ukraine, occupied by Russia.

Approximately 50 released prisoners of war appealed to international institutions and made statements about the tortures they had suffered while being kept by pro-Russian militants. Their testimonies show that prisoners of war suffered brutal tortures: amputations, compulsions to commit murders of other prisoners under the threat of atrocious tortures.

Such treatment is widely applied not only to prisoners of war, but also to pro-Ukrainian activists. The residents of occupied territories are in permanent danger of arrest based on their national identity and beliefs.

The latest striking case of inhuman treatment is the story of capture of 8 Ukrainian military servants near Novotroitske settlement in May 2019. Their fate remained a mystery for a long time, except for the released videos of latters (just like Al-Qaeda and ISIS style). Video showed they were exhausted and completely depressed. The freed ex-prisoners told what was happening off scene: prisoners were not allowed to sleep, they were left with no food and water, prisoners were regularly beaten and tortured with electroshock, electric irons, acid, suffocation with a gas mask and other torture instruments we cannot describe in this article due to ethical implications.

Many of prisoners could not endured tortures and died. It allegedly happened with the Ukrainian prisoner of war Roman Bespaliy, whose body with signs of atrocious tortures was sent to his relatives. Roman’s body was completely disemboweled, there were not any internals in. That could be done to hide the cause of death. However, there is information that militants draw internals from people alive, to receive the needed information and to maximize their pain. Such barbarity is taking place today, in the territories, which are out of control of Ukraine.

The facts of tortures and inhuman treatment of prisoners of war by pro-russian militants is not sensation. Since the occupation of its territories Ukraine has sequentially presented the proofs for the international community that actions of Russian military servants and their Donbass puppets meet the term of “aggression”, according to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX) (Definition of Aggression) and Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

The question naturally arises: how could we discuss the lifting of sanctions against the country, which ignores the international law rules in such direct way and violates the treaties and conventions, being the party thereof ?

Russia has completely quit international legal terrain, Russia consistently and methodically ruins the world order, established upon World War II.

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