Russian army officer defects, describes widespread torture including threats to castrate a Ukrainian and send his wife the video

Thu, 02/02/2023 - 08:04

A file photo of Russian soldiers guard an office for Russian citizenship applications as their military truck is parked nearby, in Melitopol, south Ukraine, on July 14, 2022. — File photo of Russian soldiers with military truck parked nearby, in Melitopol, south Ukraine, on July 14, 2022.
AP Photo

A Russian former senior lieutenant has defected and admitted the army tortures Ukrainians.
Konstantin Yefremov told the BBC of horrific abuses, including threats of rape and castration.
He is the most senior officer to publicly denounce his former army's abuses, per the BBC.

A former Russian army officer has described horrifying interrogations and the use of torture on Ukrainian war prisoners, speaking as the highest-ranking recruit to defect from his country so far.