Yale researchers with U.S. State Department backing say they have documented allegations of extrajudicial detentions and disappearances under Russian occupation in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Kherson that are "consistent with an intentional and targeted campaign."
The team, from the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) through a program called the Conflict Observatory, noted accusations ahead of Russia's February 24 all-out invasion of Ukraine that Moscow planned to capture or kill potential opposition figures and prominent residents in occupied areas.
The report documents the detentions and disappearances of 226 individuals in the Kherson region between March and October.
The demographic and professional profiles of these individuals demonstrate a pattern that reflects the pre-meditated campaign alleged before the invasion,"the report says.
"These findings demonstrate a range of alarming allegations about treatment of detainees, including allegations of deaths in custody; the widespread use of torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment (CIDT); pillage from detainees; sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV); forced participation in propaganda videos; enforced disappearances; potential reprisal detentions; threats to relatives; and monitoring, tampering with, or seizure of electronic devices."
The only major regional hub overrun so far in the nearly nine-month-old invasion, Kherson was recaptured by Ukrainian forces earlier this month after a surprise withdrawal of thousands of Russian troops,
It was the latest in a flurry of publicly bruising victories by Ukrainian defenders over the Russian invaders.
Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky said on national television on November 18 that investigators in Kherson region had uncovered 63 bodies with signs of torture after Russian forces left.
Accusations Of Widespread Atrocities
Moscow has rejected accusations of abuses or widespread atrocities by its troops.
But mass graves and evidence of execution-style killings and devastation uncovered following Russian withdrawals from communities including Bucha, Iziyum, and Lyman have strengthened arguments for international investigations by the UN and other bodies.
"The report details demographic patterns of the people detained or disappeared, the widespread allegations of abuse -- including torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment -- and the implications of these allegations in international humanitarian and human rights law," the Conflict Observatory said in issuing its report on November 18.
A top Ukrainian human rights investigator released a video on Novembe17 of what he said was a torture chamber used by Russian forces in Kherson, including a small room in which he said up to 25 people were kept at a time. Dmytro Lubinets, the parliament's human rights commissioner, shared the video on social media.
Russia has also routinely used missiles and aerial attacks to target schools, civilian areas like shopping malls with no obvious military targets, and civilian infrastructure including massive recent attacks knocking out much of Ukraine's gas and energy infrastructure in the war.
The Conflict Observatory is supported by the U.S. State Department but compiles and documents evidence independently regarding alleged abuses.
In noting the publication of the report, the State Department said "The United States remains unwavering in its support of the government and people of Ukraine as they defend their country and their freedom."
It added: "There is only one country waging this unprovoked, premeditated war of choice with willful disregard for human life: Russia. The United States is committed to holding those responsible to account, no matter how long that takes. The people of Ukraine demand and deserve justice."
