As NATO leaders gathered in Lithuanian capital of Vilnius this week, they debated how much weapons and money to send to Ukraine. Despite some clear points of tension, there was no fundamental disagreement about the basic morality of supporting Ukraine - a government that has regularly weaponized torture against civilians and prisoners of wars over the past nine years.
A report published last month by the United Nations Humans Rights Office found that dozens of civilians were recently tortured "in official pre-trial detention facilities" by Ukrainian security forces. Similar testimony was provided by a Russian law enforcement source, who told Sputnik in May that Ukrainian police had set up torture chambers in Kherson to interrogate local residents over "ties with Russia."
These cases are not isolated incidents. Sputnik has spoken to three survivors of Ukrainian torture chambers – Russian-born Donetsk civilian Alexandra Valko, metalworking specialist Andrey Sokolov, and Larisa Gurina, a former police officer from Kharkov – about their experience in captivity. All three spoke candidly about how Ukrainian forces kidnap civilians suspected of disloyalty and beat, stab, starve, and water board them in hopes of extracting a confession.
Poster Comment:
Gonzalo Lira is being held by the Ukrainians.