Two Russian soldiers who tortured and assaulted law enforcement officer's mother during occupation of Izyum identified

Ukrainian law enforcement has identified two Russian soldiers who, during the occupation of the city of Izium in Kharkiv Oblast, abducted the mother of a police officer, tortured her, and one of them committed acts of sexual violence against her.

Source: Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office; Security Service of Ukraine (SSU)

Details: The security service reported that the identified perpetrators are Nikita Palaznik, a commander of a reconnaissance group from the 607th Special Purpose Centre of the Russian National Guard, and Oleksandr Dugin, a rifleman-grenadier from the 204th Regiment of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

The investigation data indicates that in July 2022, while stationed in Izium, the suspects, together with other Russian soldiers, broke into the home of a woman, the mother of a Ukrainian police officer. They detained her and transported her to a torture chamber set up on the premises of a railway hospital.

For ten days, the Russian soldiers interrogated the woman and subjected her to brutal torture in an attempt to obtain information about her son and his colleagues.

Dugin repeatedly sexually assaulted the woman and engaged in other acts of sexual violence. He also inflicted psychological pressure upon the woman, threatening to kill her, strip her naked, tie her up in a public square, take photos and send them to her son.

During one interrogation session, the Russians connected electric wires to the woman's legs and electrocuted her. She endured extreme pain, collapsing several times, but was forced to stand and endure additional shocks.

The Russian soldiers also placed handcuffs on her hands, a gas mask on her face and suspended her by the handcuffs from the ceiling while beating her with a belt.

The woman was held in the torture chamber from 1 to 10 July 2022. During her illegal detention, the inflicted psychological trauma led her to attempt suicide.

The shed where she was confined had little ventilation. To get some fresh air she removed a brick from the wall. She was provided with two buckets: one for waste and another for porridge and bread.

On the wall of the shed, using an old nail, the woman scratched her name, the number of days she had been held and descriptions of what she endured: "ELECTROCUTION. UNDRESSING. PAIN."

On 10 July, the Russians released her, with the DPR militant threatening to kill her if she revealed what had happened to her.

Ukraine’s Security Service revealed that Palaznik later received the Hero of Russia award from the Russian military and political leadership.

Under the procedural supervision of the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office, the two Russians have been charged in absentia with cruel treatment of civilians and other violations of the laws and customs of war, as stipulated by international treaties ratified by Ukraine’s Parliament, committed as part of a premeditated conspiracy.

Law enforcement is considering placing the suspects on a wanted list. The identification of all individuals involved in the crime continues.

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