The Security Service of Ukraine completed its pre-trial investigation into a 33-year-old Russian reconnaissance platoon commander and sent the indictment to court on Nov. 12. The Kherson Oblast Prosecutor’s Office reported that the officer from Russia’s 247th Air Assault Regiment patrolled flooded areas of Oleshky following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in June 2023. During this period, more than 55,000 criminal offenses were registered in Kherson Oblast, including war crimes such as torture and unlawful detention. These figures underscore the scale of violations recorded since the start of the full-scale invasion, according to Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office.
Ten days of electric shocks
Russian soldiers detained two unarmed local residents in June 2023 and held them in a ninth-floor apartment for ten days. The victims endured dire conditions with insufficient food, water, and basic sanitation while facing daily brutal interrogations. One man was beaten and subjected to electric shocks with wires attached to his fingers to extract details about local volunteers. "To intensify the pain, a damp cloth was placed under his feet," the prosecutor’s office stated. The commander also wrapped an electric cable around the victim’s neck until he lost consciousness during one session.
Fractures and amputation
The second detainee was accused of mapping Russian firing positions and faced torture to reveal alleged intelligence passed to the Ukrainian army. He suffered serious injuries including fractures of 11 ribs, his sternum, and his jaw due to repeated beatings and electric shocks. Inadequate medical care led to infected wounds, resulting in gangrene and the amputation of a finger. The SBU charged the commander with cruel treatment of civilians and other violations of the laws and customs of war. Some Oleshky residents told the Kyiv Independent they were also tortured by Russian soldiers. Olha Liutikova and Serhii Samarsky were held 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 coincides with four years since the liberation of Kherson on Nov. 11, 2022.
