An accomplice of the occupiers was served a notice of suspicion of torturing civilians in Kherson region

During the occupation of Kherson region, a 41-year-old resident of Zaporizhzhia region, together with the military of the aggressor country, detained and tortured a civilian couple from the village of Hornostaivka. He faces up to 12 years in prison for his actions.

According to the Kherson Regional Police, in April 2022, Russian troops seized the administrative building of the territorial unit of the National Police of Ukraine in Hornostaivka. The enemy equipped the premises for detention and torture of the local population. A native of Zaporizhzhia region was appointed by the occupiers as the "head of the criminal investigation" of the "Hornostaevsky" department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. In June 2023, he and the Russian military broke into the home of a civilian couple. The husband and wife were immediately interrogated. The occupiers tried to get information about their cooperation with the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

"Having failed to get the desired answers, the enemies detained both local residents and took them to the specified premises. The interrogation and torture continued there. However, a few hours later, the couple was released without any explanation or documents," the police added.

Investigators classified the man's actions as cruel treatment of civilians and other violations of the laws and customs of war committed by a group of people by prior conspiracy. He faces eight to twelve years in prison for torturing civilians.

In the Kherson region, more than 1,500 cases of torture of civilians during the occupation have been confirmed, including about 50 murders as a result of torture. Law enforcement officers have already notified more than a hundred people involved in these crimes, including the Russian military, FSB officers, and collaborators.

As of June 2025, more than 1,500 people who were victims of torture have been documented. Most of them have already been recognized as victims and interrogated in criminal proceedings. Almost 50 cases of civilians killed as a result of torture are also under investigation. In three cases, the victims died after their release from torture as a result of injuries sustained in torture chambers.

Олеся Ланцман