How many abuses committed in Ukraine? The city of Boutcha in north-west Kiev has become a symbol of these war crimes: the corpses lying on the streets, the raped women, the mass graves. But the city is probably no exception: in Irpin, Borodyanka or even Druzhnya, residents tell of frightening scenes.
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In the latter city, some fifty kilometers from Kyiv, those who did not flee the fighting lived under Russian occupation for a month and five days, suffering daily violence and humiliation.
Despite his blue eyes, which have lost none of their brilliance, Anatole, 23, suffered violence, which his bandaged hand still bears witness to. This is how I was interrogated: they took me to my yard, they put me on my knees, they asked me to raise my hands and they shot my right hand. Then they put a black bag over my head. tied it with tape, they handcuffed my hands and put me in an armored car to take me to their base.
Anatole, 23, suffered violence in Druzhnia: he was arrested by Russian soldiers, interrogated and shot in his right hand, which is now bandaged. (JEREMY TUIL / RADIO FRANCE)
A neighbor says all the young people were stripped naked and forced to lie down in the cold earth and remain there for five hours without lifting their faces, under threats of beatings. Nadiatcha’s son was subjected to a macabre staging. “He didn’t tell me much, but yes, the Russians put him in the coffin.” started pounding on the lid. There, next to the church, is the hut for the ritual services and there were coffins inside. He replied that he knew nothing. They beat him, but he didn’t know anything,” she said. It is necessary not to understand here any information about the person or persons who would have given the Ukrainian army tactical elements, because that is actually what the Russian soldiers were looking for, by searching the phones and then kicking them, which is what Lahissa wishes to show us She saw her son and husband shot and suspects the use of chemical substances.
“We are not experts, but we came to the conclusion that the Russians used something forbidden on us.”
“I’m no expert but I can prove they used something forbidden because we all had dry lips. The skin on our arms and hands is cracked. The bald men had burns and pimples on their skulls and also purulent wounds on their ears, she accuses.
According to Lahissa, a Druzhnya resident, the Russian soldiers looking for information stomped on some residents’ mobile phones. (JEREMY TUIL / RADIO FRANCE)
In front of Lahissa’s house, the street still bears the marks of Russian tank tracks. They continue into the forest where many men were taken. Anatole assures that six have not returned.
War in Ukraine: Residents of Druzhnya talk about Russian occupation. Report by Faustine Calmel and Jérémy Tuil
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