Russian army officer admits: 'Our troops tortured Ukrainians'

1 year ago 50

Konstantin YefremovImage source, Konstantin Yefremov

Image caption,

Konstantin successful Ukraine, March 2022

By Steve Rosenberg

Russia Editor

Allegations of brutal interrogations, wherever Ukrainian men were changeable and threatened with rape, person been made by a erstwhile Russian subject officer.

Konstantin Yefremov, the astir elder serviceman to talk openly, told the BBC successful an exclusive interrogation Russia present sees him arsenic a traitor and defector.

At 1 tract successful confederate Ukraine, helium said "the interrogations, the torture, continued for astir a week".

"Every day, astatine night, sometimes doubly a day."

Mr Yefremov tried to resign from the service galore times - but helium ended up being sacked. He has present fled Russia.

Using photographs and subject documents supplied by Mr Yefremov, the BBC has verified helium was successful Ukraine aboriginal successful the warfare - successful the Zaporizhzhia region, including the metropolis of Melitopol.

This nonfiction contains graphic descriptions of torture.

Konstantin Yefremov's look flickers into presumption connected my machine surface and we commencement to talk. He is simply a antheral with a communicative to tell. Until precocious helium was a Russian service officer.

Deployed to Ukraine past year, the erstwhile elder lieutenant has agreed to archer maine astir the crimes helium says helium witnessed determination - including torture and mistreatment of Ukrainian prisoners. He volition speech astir his comrades looting occupied areas of Ukraine, and picture brutal interrogation sessions, led by a Russian colonel, successful which men were changeable and threatened with rape.

On 10 February 2022, Mr Yefremov says helium arrived successful Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia 9 years ago. He was the caput of a de-mining portion of the 42nd Motorised Rifle Division - and was usually based successful Chechnya, successful Russia's North Caucasus. He and his men were sent to instrumentality portion successful "military exercises", helium says.

"At the clip no-one believed determination would beryllium war. Everyone thought this was lone a drill. I'm definite adjacent elder officers didn't know."

'I was frightened of quitting'

Mr Yefremov recalls seeing Russian troops taping recognition marks connected their uniforms and coating the missive "Z" connected subject instrumentality and vehicles. Within days, "Z" had go the awesome of what the Kremlin was calling its "special subject operation".

Mr Yefremov claims helium wanted thing to bash with it.

"I decided to quit. I went to my commandant and explained my position. He took maine to a elder serviceman who called maine a traitor and a coward.

"I near my gun, got successful a taxi and drove off. I wanted to instrumentality to my basal successful Chechnya and resign officially. Then my comrades telephoned maine with a warning.

"A colonel had promised to enactment maine successful situation for up to 10 years for desertion and he'd alerted the police."

Image source, Konstantin Yefremov

Image caption,

Konstantin Yefremov showed the BBC his Russian subject recognition papers

Mr Yefremov says helium called a subject lawyer, who advised him to crook around.

"I realise present I should person ignored that and driven on," helium says. "But I was acrophobic of being enactment successful jail."

He went backmost to articulation his men.

Mr Yefremov insists helium is "anti-war". He assures maine helium did not enactment successful Russia's annexation of Crimea, oregon combat successful eastbound Ukraine erstwhile warfare archetypal erupted successful the Donbas 9 years ago.

In 2014, Russia was not lone accused of orchestrating a separatist uprising there, but of sending successful its ain troops. Konstantin besides tells maine helium has not taken portion successful Russia's subject cognition successful Syria.

"For the past 3 years I had been progressive successful excavation clearance successful Chechnya, a spot that had experienced 2 wars. I deliberation the enactment I've done determination has benefited people."

Looting bicycles and lawnmowers

Mr Yefremov was placed successful impermanent complaint of a firearm platoon. On 27 February, 3 days aft the Russian invasion, helium says helium and his men were ordered to determination northbound from occupied Crimea. They headed for the metropolis of Melitopol.

The adjacent 10 days were spent astatine an airfield which had already been captured by Russian troops. He describes the looting helium witnessed.

"Soldiers and officers grabbed everything they could. They climbed each implicit the planes and went done each the buildings. One worker took distant a lawnmower. He said proudly, 'I'll instrumentality this location and chopped the writer adjacent to our barracks.'

"Buckets, axes, bicycles, they bunged it each successful their trucks. So overmuch worldly they had to squat down to acceptable successful the vehicles."

Mr Yefremov has sent america photographs helium says helium took astatine Melitopol aerial base. They amusement transport planes and a gathering connected fire.

They are among a fig of pictures and documents helium has shared - and which we person verified - to corroborate Mr Yefremov's identity, fertile and his movements successful Ukraine successful the outpouring of 2022.

Online mapping tools confirmed the images of Melitopol aerial base.

For a period and a half, helium and 8 soldiers nether his bid guarded a Russian artillery portion there.

"The full clip we slept outside," helium recalls. "We were truthful bare we started hunting for rabbits and pheasants. One clip we came crossed a mansion. There was a Russian combatant inside. 'We're with the 100th Brigade and we unrecorded present now,' the worker said.

"There was truthful overmuch food. The fridges were packed. There was capable nutrient to past a atomic war. But the soldiers surviving determination were catching the Japanese carp successful the pond extracurricular and eating them."

'I saw interrogation and torture'

Konstantin Yefremov's radical moved to defender what helium describes arsenic a "logistics headquarters" successful April - successful the municipality of Bilmak, to the north-east of Melitopol. There, helium says helium witnessed interrogations and mistreatment of Ukrainian prisoners.

He recalls a time erstwhile 3 prisoners were brought in.

"One of them admitted to being a sniper. On proceeding this, the Russian colonel mislaid his mind. He deed him, helium pulled the Ukrainian's trousers down and asked if helium was married.

"'Yes, the captive replied. 'Then idiosyncratic bring maine a mop,' said the colonel. 'We'll crook you into a miss and nonstop your woman the video.'"

Another time, says Mr Yefremov, the colonel asked the captive to sanction each the Ukrainian nationalists successful his unit.

"The Ukrainian didn't recognize the question. He replied that the soldiers were naval infantry of the Ukrainian equipped forces. For that reply they knocked retired immoderate of his teeth."

The Kremlin wants Russians to judge that, successful Ukraine, Russia is warring fascists, neo-Nazis and ultra-nationalists. This mendacious communicative serves to dehumanise Ukrainians successful the eyes of the Russian nationalist and the military.

Mr Yefremov says the Ukrainian captive had a blindfold on.

"The colonel enactment a pistol to the prisoner's forehead and said 'I'm going to number to 3 and past sprout you successful the head.'

"He counted and past fired conscionable to the broadside of his head, connected some sides. The colonel started shouting astatine him. I said: 'Comrade colonel! He can't perceive you, you've deafened him!'"

Image source, Konstantin Yefremov

Image caption,

Another photograph Konstantin Yefremov shared - showing him successful beforehand of buildings successful Bilmak - wherever helium says captive torture took place. Local residents confirmed the determination to the BBC

Mr Yefremov describes however the colonel gave orders that the Ukrainians shouldn't beryllium fixed mean nutrient - lone h2o and crackers. But helium says: "We tried to springiness them blistery beverage and cigarettes."

So that the prisoners didn't slumber connected bare ground, Mr Yefremov besides recalls however his men tossed them hay - "at night, truthful that no-one saw us".

During different interrogation, Mr Yefremov says the colonel changeable a captive successful the limb - and successful the close limb nether the knee, which deed the bone. Konstantin says his men bandaged the captive up and went to the Russian commanders - "not to the Colonel, helium was crazy" - and said the captive needed to spell to hospital, different helium would dice from humor loss.

"We dressed him up successful a Russian azygous and took him to hospital. We told him: 'Don't accidental you're a Ukrainian captive of war, due to the fact that either the doctors volition garbage to dainty you, oregon the injured Russian soldiers volition perceive and sprout you and we won't beryllium capable to halt them."

The UN's Human Rights Office has been documenting cases of mistreatment of prisoners successful the warfare successful Ukraine. It has interviewed much than 400 POWs - some Ukrainians and Russians.

"Unfortunately, we've recovered determination is torture and ill-treatment of prisoners of warfare happening connected some sides," says Matilda Bogner, caput of the UN's Ukraine-based monitoring team.

"If we comparison the violations, the torture oregon ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of warfare tends to hap astatine astir each signifier of confinement. And, for the astir part, the conditions of internment are worse successful galore areas of Russia oregon occupied Ukraine."

The worst forms of torture oregon sick attraction for Ukrainian prisoners of warfare usually hap during interrogation, says Ms Bogner. They tin beryllium subjected to electrocution and a full scope of torture methods - she says - including hanging radical up and beating them.

"When they get astatine places of internment determination are often alleged welcoming beatings. They besides often look inadequate nutrient and water," she adds.

Russian prisoners of war, too, person reported beatings and suffering electrocution.

Any signifier of torture oregon sick attraction is prohibited nether planetary law," says Ms Bogner. "It is unacceptable for either broadside to bash this."

The BBC was incapable to independently corroborate Konstantin Yefremov's circumstantial allegations of torture, but they are accordant with different claims of maltreatment of Ukrainian prisoners.

Russia's Defence Ministry did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

Denounced arsenic a traitor and defector

Mr Yefremov would yet instrumentality to his de-mining unit, but not for long.

"Seven of america had taken the determination [to permission the army]," helium tells me.

At the extremity of May, backmost successful Chechnya, helium wrote his missive of resignation. Some elder officers were not happy.

"They started threatening me. Officers who hadn't spent a time successful Ukraine were telling maine that I was a coward and a traitor. They wouldn't let maine to resign. I was dismissed."

Image source, Konstantin Yefremov

Image caption,

One of the past photos of Konstantin Yefremov successful his service uniform, Chechnya, June 2022

Mr Yefremov shows america letters from the military.

In the archetypal document, helium is accused of "shirking his duties" and disregarding an bid to instrumentality to Ukraine. It is described arsenic "a superior breach of discipline".

The 2nd missive refers to Mr Yefremov's "early dismissal from subject service… for breaking his contract".

"After 10 years of work I was denounced arsenic a traitor, a defector, conscionable due to the fact that I didn't privation to termination people," helium says. "But I was gladsome that I was present a escaped person, that I wouldn't person to termination oregon beryllium killed."

Mr Yefremov was retired of the army. But not retired of information of being sent backmost to the war.

In September 2022, President Putin declared what helium called "partial mobilisation". Hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens would beryllium drafted into the subject and sent to Ukraine.

Mr Yefremov says helium knew - due to the fact that helium had already served with the subject successful Ukraine - helium would not beryllium near alone. He came up with an flight plan.

"In the location wherever I was surviving I made a hatch successful the attic ceiling… successful lawsuit constabulary and enlistment officers broke successful to present call-up papers.

"Enlistment officers were driving to my location and waiting for maine successful their cars. So, I rented a level and hid there.

"I hid from the neighbours, too, due to the fact that I'd heard of cases erstwhile neighbours told constabulary astir young men who'd been drafted and were hiding. I recovered this concern humiliating and unacceptable."

Mr Yefremov contacted Russian quality rights radical Gulagu.net, which helped him permission Russia.

What does Mr Yefremov deliberation astir those Russians - and determination are galore - who explicit enactment for Vladimir Putin's determination to invade Ukraine?

"I don't cognize what's going connected successful their heads," helium says. "How could they let themselves to beryllium fooled? When they spell to market, they cognize they could beryllium short-changed. They don't spot their wives, their husbands.

"But the antheral who has been deceiving them for 20 years, helium lone has to springiness the connection and these radical are acceptable to spell and termination and die. I can't recognize it."

As we extremity our chat, Mr Yefremov says atrocious to the radical of Ukraine.

"I apologise to the full Ukrainian federation for coming to their location arsenic an uninvited impermanent with a limb successful my hands.

"Thank God I didn't wounded anyone. I didn't termination anyone. Thank God I wasn't killed.

"I don't adjacent person the motivation close to inquire for forgiveness from the Ukrainians. I can't forgive myself, truthful I can't expect them to forgive me."

Open root analysis: Joshua Cheetham

With assistance from Gulagu.net

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