World

Ukraine claims ‘terrible torture chamber’ discovered in town newly liberated from Russian forces

Published

3 years ago

October 6, 2022

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A suspected Russian torture chamber has been discovered in a newly-liberated town, Ukrainian officials have claimed.

The room was found inside a de-occupied town near Izyum, a city in the eastern Kharkiv region of Ukraine.

Having been occupied by Russian forces since April, Pisky-Radkivski was freed by Ukrainian troops last week.

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As they moved through the region, local officials and National Police said they made the grim discovery in the Borova district, alongside several other horrendous items.

A gas mask with a dirty cloth attached to it was found, Kharkiv’s chief police investigator said, with Ukraine’s defence ministry claiming it had been forced onto “the head of a victim, who was covered with a smouldering rag and buried alive”.

A box of gold dental crowns that was found prompted the ministry to draw parallels between Russian and Nazi forces, describing the room as a “mini Auschwitz”.

However, though the crowns may have been used in the torture of captives, it appears they were not, in fact, pulled from the dead by Russian soldiers.

A local dentist told German newspaper Bild that they actually came from his collection that was looted by invaders.

He said he thought the Russians probably stole them thinking they were gold when, in fact, they were stainless steel.

The dentist, named Sergey, told the newspaper, “I’m the only dentist here. So if they were found here, they must be mine.”

However, Sergey did reveal locals had told him that the crowns may have played a part in the torture, with Russians using them to “scare people”.

Photos released by the head of Kharkiv’s National Security Service’s investigative department, Serhii Bolvinov, also showed a smashed phone, pieces of what appeared to be barbed wire, and a sex toy.

“Neighbours constantly heard screams from there. Investigators found a terrible torture chamber in the village,” he said.

He confirmed that police “know the names of the victims” and an investigation is now underway.

‘People were intimidated, beaten and abused’

The country’s National Police Force has accused Russian troops of committing war crimes during their occupation of the area.

“When Russian servicemen entered the village, they drove the locals out of their homes and settled there themselves,” it said.

“People were intimidated, beaten and abused. The Russian occupiers left looted houses. Dirt and filth – the trademark of the ‘Russian world’,” it added.

‘Mass burial sites’ previously found in Izyum

This is not the first time Russian forces have been accused of committing war crimes during the war in Ukraine, with tens of thousands of alleged incidents currently being investigated by police.

The United Nations human rights office has said Russia’s invasion has caused a dire human rights situation in the country, and a wide range of violations, including extrajudicial killings and torture, that could amount to war crimes.

A war crime is defined by the United Nations as a serious breach of international humanitarian law committed against civilians or “enemy combatants” during an armed conflict.

Russia has already been accused of war crimes in Izyum, following the discovery of more than 440 graves in the town earlier in the conflict.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a “mass burial site” was found in September.

Mr Bolvinov claimed that some of the victims were “shot dead”, with others dying as a result of artillery fire, mine explosions, and airstrikes.

Bodies found with their hands tied behind their backs

One of the most notable alleged war crime incidents to have taken place in Ukraine was in the town of Bucha, where dead bodies were found with their hands tied behind their backs.

Just outside the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, the area was devastated by fighting, and after Russian troops began to withdraw, images revealed a 45ft-long makeshift mass grave outside a church.

Sky News verified two videos showing bodies laying in the street, including one with at least seven corpses on the pavement.

Photos taken by Associated Press showed bodies of people dressed in civilian clothes with their hands tied behind their backs and wounds to the back of their heads, with a suggestion that some were shot at close range.

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The images prompted condemnation and offers of more support to Ukraine from across the world, including the UK and the United States.

Russia has repeatedly denied committing any war crimes.

World

Children ‘eating out of piles of garbage’ as Gaza aid trickles in

Published

4 hours ago

July 29, 2025

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Children 'eating out of piles of garbage' as Gaza aid trickles in

“Children are eating out of piles of garbage” – that was the answer from UNICEF’s Salim Oweis when I asked if aid was now getting to those who need it.

The phone call was intended for background to try to get a clearer idea of the latest aid distribution in Gaza, but it’s a conversation I won’t forget.

“Parents are crushing whatever they can into water, most likely unclean water, because there is no infant milk or formula. The reports are horrific,” says Salim.

“Our colleagues are struggling to find enough food for themselves.”

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It’s been three days since Israel announced humanitarian pauses to allow aid to get to starving people in Gaza but it’s not yet being felt on the ground.

I’m told more aid trucks have entered Kerem Shalom – the border crossing between Gaza and Israel – but that’s only the first stage of the journey.

The aid then needs to be collected and brought inside the Gaza Strip, then taken to partners on the ground for distribution.

It’s a lengthy process, and it needs to be accelerated with urgency.

So far, lorries carrying famine preventative supplies have been collected – that’s high-energy biscuits, food for children between six months and two years, infant formula, vaccines and nappies.

Therapeutic food, which has a peanut butter like consistency, and is aimed to treat malnutrition has arrived at Kerem Shalom but there’s no confirmation yet on whether it’s made it in.

I had not heard of therapeutic food before. I’ve since learnt it is high in energy and micronutrients and won’t treat the complications of malnutrition, but will get a child out of the danger zone.

There is an ongoing issue of desperate people attempting to loot these lorries as they enter Gaza.

“The more aid that goes in, the more the looting will decrease because people will trust that there is now food coming back in,” says Salim.

But the amount getting in is still a fraction of what is needed.

The situation is so desperate, not everyone can wait until tomorrow for help. People are now dying everyday in Gaza due to hunger.

There is no time for wrangling over detail. Food is needed in mass quantities immediately. We have had warnings for months that Gaza was on the brink of famine. It’s now here.

For those working to help the most vulnerable and innocent in Gaza, it feels extremely personal.

“The rest of the world has failed the children and the civilians of Gaza,” says Salim.

“The world is numb and leaders of the world are apparently deaf.”

World

Mile after mile of grey rubble – the view from a plane dropping aid to Gaza

Published

20 hours ago

July 29, 2025

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Mile after mile of grey rubble - the view from a plane dropping aid to Gaza

We are on our way to Gaza with the Jordanian military.

The aircraft is hot and noisy and as we get closer, the atmosphere gets more tense. Aircrew gesture with their hands to tell us how many minutes there are to go. Fifteen. Six. One.

The Jordanian military C-130 flies out over the sea before banking and heading inland for Gaza. The parachutes, attached to the top of each of the eight pallets, are prepared for the drop.

As land approaches, I look down. The ground is modern and built up – we’re still over southern Israel.

Then a few short minutes later, it’s clear we’ve crossed Gaza’s border.

The ground turns grey, the shapes of buildings disappear, there are no cars, no people.

You can see the outline of communities and villages that are now flattened. Mile after mile of grey rubble.

This mission by the Royal Jordanian Air Force is one of the first aid drop flights since Israel announced they could resume. It is carrying eight tonnes of food and baby formula.

Foreign nations know this is a deeply flawed way of delivering aid – road convoys are far more effective and can carry far more – but the Jordanian flight crew say the need in Gaza is so urgent, it’s simply an attempt to do something.

When the aircraft ramp opens, the aid is pushed out and it’s gone in seconds.

The parachutes seem peaceful as they open and their fall slows. But dropping food from the sky is a dangerous and undignified way to feed people.

On the ground it’s chaos.

Our colleagues in Gaza say the fighting for food has become lethal – gangs are now punching and stabbing people to reach it first. Most critically, it’s not getting to the weakest. To those who really need it.

One man becomes emotional as he describes racing to find food and leaving with nothing.

“I came only for my son,” he says. “I wouldn’t come here if it was just for me. When you have a child, they need bread.”

He’s an engineer in normal times and seems in disbelief that his life has come to this. “The aid comes from the sky and we have to run after it. I’ve never had to do this in my life.”

It is hoped Israel’s humanitarian pauses in fighting will rapidly increase food distribution by road but it’s very unclear how that is going.

Hospitals in Gaza have reported another 14 deaths from starvation in the last 24 hours, the Gaza health ministry said on Monday.

Airstrikes killed another at least 78 Palestinians across Gaza on Monday, local health officials said.

We cannot verify these numbers because Israel has not allowed international journalists access to Gaza.

And Monday’s flight came with strict media conditions.

We were told the Israeli side had warned that any shots of Gaza filmed from the air could result in these aid flights being cancelled.

But Israel’s tight grip has not stopped the images from Gaza getting out, horrifying people around the world.

The question now is what more the international community will do about it.

World

Israeli human rights organisations accuse country of genocide

Published

23 hours ago

July 28, 2025

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Israeli human rights organisations accuse country of genocide

Two Israeli human rights organisations have said the country is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

In reports published on Monday, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said Israel was carrying out “coordinated, deliberate action to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip”.

The two groups are the first major voices within Israeli society to make such accusations against the state during nearly 22 months of war against Hamas.

Israel has vehemently denied claims of genocide. David Mencer, a spokesperson for the government, called the allegation by the rights groups “baseless”.

He said: “There is no intent, (which is) key for the charge of genocide… it simply doesn’t make sense for a country to send in 1.9 million tonnes of aid, most of that being food, if there is an intent of genocide.”

B’Tselem director Yuli Novak called for urgent action, saying: “What we see is a clear, intentional attack on civilians in order to destroy a group.”

The organisation’s report “is one we never imagined we would have to write,” Ms Novak said. “The people of Gaza have been displaced, bombed, and starved, left completely stripped of their humanity and rights.”

PHR said Israel’s military campaign shows evidence of a “deliberate and systemic dismantling of Gaza’s health and life-sustaining systems”.

Both organisations said Israel’s Western allies were enabling the genocidal campaign, and shared responsibility for suffering in Gaza.

“It couldn’t happen without the support of the Western world,” Ms Novak said. “Any leader that is not doing whatever they can to stop it is part of this horror.”

Hamas said the reports by the two groups were a “clear and unambiguous testimony from within Israeli society itself regarding the grave crimes perpetrated by the occupation regime against our people”.

Dire humanitarian conditions

Since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following the deadly Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, nearly 60,000 people – mostly civilians – have been killed, according to Gaza health officials.

Much of the infrastructure has been destroyed, and nearly the whole population of more than two million has been displaced.

An increasing number of people in Gaza are also dying from starvation and malnutrition, according to Gaza health authorities.

On Monday, the Gaza health ministry reported that at least 14 people had died from starvation and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, raising the total number of hunger-related deaths during the war to 147.

Among the victims were 88 children, with most of the deaths occurring in recent weeks.

UN agencies say the territory is running out of food for its people and accuse Israel of not allowing enough aid deliveries to the enclave. Israel denies those claims.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said “there is no starvation in Gaza” and vowed to fight on against Hamas.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that many in Gaza are facing starvation and implied that Israel could take further steps to improve humanitarian access.

Israel has repeatedly said its actions in Gaza are in self-defence, placing full responsibility for civilian casualties on Hamas. It cites the militant group’s refusal to release hostages, surrender, or stop operating within civilian areas – allegations that Hamas denies.