KYIV – Ukrainian soldiers from the Azov regiment who were taken prisoner by Russia after the battle for Mariupol said yesterday they were beaten during their captivity.
The soldiers, who were released as part of a prisoner exchange, told reporters during an online press conference that they saw soldiers that were beaten until their bones were broken.
“They undressed us, forced us to squat while we were naked. If any of the boys raised their heads, they began to beat them immediately,” said Denys Chepurko, a fighter from the Azov regiment who was seriously wounded.
Chepurko said he was beaten during interrogations and asked to sign a statement denouncing his command.
“I said that I would not do this – and they started beating me with sticks, threatening me with death, and shooting,” he said.
“I saw guys who were brought in with broken ribs, in a very severe condition.”
Another ex-prisoner, Vladyslav Zhaivoronok, said he had observed cases of “serious torture”.
“Some had needles inserted into their wounds, some were tortured with water,” he said during the press conference.
Cherpurko said there were some cases where “the boys were taken and they never came back”.
“I saw how one soldier was taken from our barracks, and two days later he was simply brought back, he couldn't move,” he told reporters.
“They wanted him to sign a document that it was not Russia who did all this to Mariupol, but us, but he refused, so his ribs, legs, and arms were broken.”
Their claims could not be independently verified.
Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24 and within days had surrounded Mariupol, a strategic industrial port hub on the Sea of Azov.
Jaivoronok and Cherpouko were among nearly 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered and were taken prisoner by Russia, held in the notorious Olenivka prison in the separatist-controlled Donetsk region.
Kyiv and Moscow have traded blame over a strike on the prison last month, which reportedly killed dozens of Ukrainian prisoners. – AFP, August 23, 2022
