“Needles in Wounds”
Azov militants accuse Russia of “severe torture”.
08/22/2022, 11:48 PM
For a long time, the fighters of the Azov Brigade were able to defend Mariupol against the attacking Russian troops. When the city fell, many of them were taken prisoner. Some of the freed fighters claim they were tortured there. They accuse Russia of gross abuse.
Ukrainian soldiers captured in the battle of Mariupol have accused the Russian military of severe abuse after being released from prison. In an online press conference, ex-combatants of the Azov regiment spoke of, among other things, prisoners who suffered broken bones from beatings. Information provided by ex-servicemen cannot be independently verified.
The men were captured after the Russian takeover of Mariupol in May and later released in a prisoner exchange. One of the released soldiers spoke of observing cases of “severe torture”.
After weeks of fierce fighting, Mariupol was finally under Russian control. At that time, the last fighters of the Azov Brigade surrendered, having put up fierce resistance to the Russian siege of the city at the huge Azov Steelworks for weeks.
The Azov Regiment is a former volunteer regiment controversial for its links to right-wing extremists. In 2014, the combat group was formally integrated into the Ukrainian National Guard. At the time, Azov members were participating in the fight against Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
“They forced us to strip and strip naked. If a boy raised his head, they immediately beat him,” Denis Sharpuko, a Ukrainian soldier and Azov fighter, told a press conference. Former prisoner Vladislav Shyvoronok spoke of cases of “severe torture”: “Some had needles stuck in their wounds, some were tortured with water,” Shyvoronok said.
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