These images show a stash of gold teeth that were ripped from the mouths of prisoners before being discovered stashed in a plastic container that was found in a Russian torture chamber in a recently liberated Ukrainian village.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has labelled the Russian torture chamber a “mini Auschwitz”.
The Ukrainian police footage shows the Russian torture chamber, with the narrator saying that the images were filmed in the village of Pisky-Radkivski, in Kharkiv region, and adding that Ukrainian citizens were held there.
The narrator also said that Russian soldiers drove local residents from their homes when they occupied the village and booby-trapped the doors to people’s homes when they left.
A man on a bicycle is then seen saying that he was kept in the Russian torture chamber. He shows his wrists and the scars he has to prove it.
The images were obtained from the National Police of Ukraine on Monday, 3rd October, along with a statement saying: “The village of Pisky-Radkivski in Kharkiv Oblast.
“Another torture chamber of the Russian occupiers. After the deoccupation, our police officers documented here the war crimes of the army of the ‘liberators’.
“When Russian servicemen entered the village, they drove the locals out of their homes and settled there themselves.
“The police found another torture chamber in this cellar, where locals were kept in inhumane conditions. People were intimidated, beaten and abused.
“The Russian occupiers left looted houses, dirt and filth – the trademark of the ‘Russian world’.”
The head of the investigative police department for the Kharkiv region, Colonel Serhiy Bolvinov said in a statement on Tuesday, 4th October: “Neighbours constantly heard screams coming from there.
“Investigators found a terrible torture chamber in the village of Pisky-Radkivski.
“After the de-occupation of the region, the police received statements about collaborators, about the crimes of the Russian army, as well as the testimonies of locals.
“After the liberation of the village of Pisky-Radkivski, the local residents turned to the police, saying prisoners had been held in the basement of one of the houses – local residents, anti-terrorist forces and prisoners from the armed forces.
“At the moment, the police are aware of the torture of burying/digging in the ground alive and using a gas mask with a smouldering rag.
“A dildo, a box with torn dentures, wires with ropes and a letter with an interview of one of the men who was there were also found in the torture chamber.
“The police know the names of the servicemen who were abused by the Russians.”
Colonel Serhiy Bolvinov added that investigators and prosecutors are currently working to establish all the facts that happened in the torture chamber. He vowed that the guilty would be punished for their crimes.
Some of the images were also relayed by the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine along with a statement saying (in English): “A torture chamber in Pisky-Radkivski. 2 photos. A gas mask that was put on the head of a victim who was covered with a smoldering rag and buried alive. And a box of gold dental crowns. A mini Auschwitz. How many more will be found in occupied Ukraine?” (sic)
The two images released by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence show a gas mask and the box of gold dentures.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 224th day of the war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 5th October, Russia had lost about 61,000 personnel, 2,435 tanks, 5,038 armoured combat vehicles, 1,414 artillery units, 341 multiple launch rocket systems, 177 air defence systems, 266 warplanes, 232 helicopters, 1,032 drones, 246 cruise missiles, 15 warships, 3,841 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 132 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukrainian forces have now liberated dozens of regions from Russian occupation. Ukrainian troops are now approaching the city of Kherson, with President Zelensky praising their “fast and powerful advance” on Tuesday.
President Zelensky said: “The Ukrainian army is making a rather fast and powerful advance in the south of our country in the course of the ongoing defensive operation.”
He added: “Dozens of settlements have already been liberated from the Russian pseudo-referendum this week alone.”
Christian Salazar Volkmann, Director of the Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations has presented a report on rights in Ukraine to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The report details “disturbing accounts” of civilian and POW rights being violated by Russian forces, adding that arbitrary detention had become “widespread” in territories under Russian control.
US President Joe Biden has told President Zelensky that the United States will provide Ukraine with USD 625 million in new security assistance, including fresh high mobility Artillery rocket system (HIMARS) launchers.
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have told President Zelensky that the United States “will never recognise” Russia’s annexations.
The White House also said that President Biden “affirmed the continued readiness of the United States to impose severe costs on any individual, entity, or country that provides support to Russia purported annexation.”
The head of the Russian delegation to the United Nations Disarmament Commission, Konstantin Vorontsov, said on Tuesday: “The United States continues to pump more weapons into Ukraine, facilitating the direct participation of its fighters and advisers in the conflict.
“Not only does this prolong the fighting, but it also brings the situation closer to a dangerous line of a direct military clash between Russia and NATO.”
European Union finance ministers have agreed to integrate the bloc’s support payments to Ukraine into its 2023 budget, in a bid to make them more structured.
The World Bank has estimated that Ukraine’s economy will shrink eight times faster than Russia’s this year as a result of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
Russia’s retreat from the city of Lyman in eastern Ukraine has triggered strong criticism on Russian state television of how the war is being managed. Vladimir Solovyov, the host of a prime-time talk show on the state television channel Russia 1, who is also one of Putin’s biggest supporters, has said: “We need to pull it together, make unpopular, but necessary decisions and act.”
North Korea has recognised the results of Russia’s referendums in eastern Ukraine, making it the only member of the United Nations apart from Russia to do so.
