The EU has sanctioned a Russian national implicated in acts of torture in the Kherson region

The European Union has imposed sanctions on FSB officer Yan Zanevsky, who is believed to be involved in the unlawful detention and torture of civilians in the temporarily occupied territories of the Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

This was reported by the Council of the European Union.

According to the EU, Zanevsky participated in the unlawful detention of civilians and subjected them to torture, including beatings, suffocation, and sexual violence. It is precisely because of his activities that the Kherson region is listed among the regions where gross human rights violations have been documented.

In total, the European Union has imposed sanctions on 15 individuals and one institution that it considers responsible for torture, cruel treatment, and other serious violations of the rights of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians.

The sanctions list also includes Dmytro Neelov, the first deputy warden of the prison colony in occupied Olenivka, whom the EU considers complicit in the torture of Ukrainian prisoners and responsible for the mass deaths of prisoners of war in July 2022.

Separate sanctions were imposed on Pretrial Detention Center No. 2 in Taganrog, Russia, where Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians—including journalists and women—were held. According to the EU, torture was systematically carried out at this facility, and among those who died there was Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchina.

In addition, sanctions were imposed on the leadership of Russian Penal Colony No. 10 and its medical unit, where, according to the EU, Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians were also subjected to beatings, torture, sexual violence, and denial of medical care.

The sanctions include an asset freeze, a ban on entry into EU countries, and a prohibition on EU citizens and companies from providing funds to sanctioned individuals and institutions.

Андрій Колісніченко