The confession, this time, does not come from a source Ukrainebut by former Russian officer Konstantin Yefremov, interviewed by BBCwhich would reveal that torture (by Russian soldiers) took place: a terrible admission which, if confirmed, joins the numerous complaints collected and documented by the Ukrainian courts and international organizations.
“Torture every day, and even at night”It is a former high graduate of Putin who denounced the brutal interrogations, torture, even threats of rape and shootings, carried out by Russian forces in Ukraine during an interview with the BBC in which he explained that his country now sees him as a traitor and a deserter. “The interrogations, the tortures, continued for about a week,” he said. “Every day, at night, sometimes twice a day.” Deployed to Ukraine last year, the former lieutenant agreed to speak to the BBC about the crimes he says he witnessed.
“Detailed” accusations against Putin’s armyIt would involve physical torture and brutal interrogations – among other revelations – to which Ukrainian prisoners were subjected in the south of the country: prisoners “shot by bullets and threatened with rape”: Yefremov (so far the most senior Russian officer to speak openly about the torture of Ukrainians), said Russia now considers him a traitor and a deserter.
The Officer’s Tale: Hell in MelitopolIn the story to the British broadcaster, he reports that he was in the region of Zaporizhzhiain Melitopol, and there “the interrogations, the tortures continued every day, at night, sometimes twice a day”: the group Yefremov was in charge of, had to guard a “logistics headquarters”, last April in the city Of Bilmak (northeast of Melitopol), and it is precisely there that he would have witnessed the interrogation and ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners.
The threats of a Russian Colonel: “We will turn you into a girl““I remember a day when three prisoners were brought in: one of them admitted he was a sniper, and when he found out the Russian colonel lost his mind: he hit him, pulled down the Ukrainian’s trousers and she asked him if he was married‘Yes’, replied the prisoner, and then – continues the former Russian officer in his story – the colonel said ‘we will turn you into a girl and send the video to your wife”.
“No one believed there would be a war”It was February 10, 2022 – 14 days before the start of the conflict – when Yefremov arrived in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia nine years ago. He headed a demining unit of the 42nd Rifle Division, usually based in Chechnya. He and his men, have been sent to take part in “military exercises”he precised.
“At the time, nobody believed there would be war. Everyone thought it was just a drill. I’m sure the senior officers didn’t know either,” she concluded.
