U.N. hears allegations Russia tortures Ukrainian prisoners

At an informal U.N. Security Council meeting, former Ukrainian detainees, Ukrainian officials and U.N. human rights monitors accused Russia of widespread and systematic torture, incommunicado detention and sexual violence against Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees, with thousands still held. Witnesses described daily beatings, electrocution, mock executions and sexual abuse; the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights documented 129 executions early in captivity and 48 deaths in custody, and said over 95% of interviewed Ukrainian POWs reported torture. Russia rejected the allegations as disinformation.

U.N. documented widespread torture of Ukrainian prisoners