Nazi tortured village head with electric shock in Kherson region

A native of Donetsk region, who served in the Russian occupation forces, was served a war crime notice. According to the investigation, he and his accomplices tortured a village head in Kherson region.

This is stated in the suspicion of the Prosecutor General's Office.

The National Police of Ukraine has served a notice of suspicion to Nazar Kurinnyi, a native of Donetsk region who served in the Russian occupation forces. He is accused of a war crime - cruel treatment of civilians committed by a group of people by prior conspiracy.

According to the investigation, on March 25, 2022, during the occupation of the Beryslav district of the Kherson region, Kurinnyi, together with two Russian soldiers, broke into the building of the Novooleksandrivka village council. The village head Oleksandr Levechko, who was not related to the army and was wearing civilian clothes, was there. The occupants tied his hands with a plastic clamp, took him out of the building and forced him into a car.

The man was transported to an illegal commandant's office in the village of Mylove, which was set up in the building of a paramedic and obstetric center. It was there that the torture began. According to the investigators, Kurinnyi and his accomplices forced Levechko to undress, put a bag over his head, beat him on the back and kidneys with assault rifle butts, and threatened to kill him. Then they put wires on his arms, pressed against his genitals, and passed electric current. The torture lasted about an hour, alternating between beatings and psychological pressure.

After that, Levechko was kept in a dark room without light or windows until March 28. He was later transferred to the occupier-controlled "police" in Nova Kakhovka, where he was released the same day, finding no grounds for further detention.

The investigation believes that Kurinnyi's actions constitute a war crime, as he deliberately violated international humanitarian law, which prohibits the use of torture or any measures of physical or moral coercion against civilians.

He is charged with Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - cruel treatment of civilians committed by a group of persons. He faces up to 15 years in prison.

The former head of the emergency department of Hola Prystan also survived captivity and torture by the Russian occupiers. In August 2022, Moshensky was detained for two weeks, during which he was beaten, subjected to electric shocks, and kept in fetal position in pits. The occupiers tried to force him to cooperate and give information about the Ukrainian military, but he managed to survive and be released. He then moved to Kherson, where he was hiding with relatives until the city was de-occupied in November 2022.

Анна Бальчінос