Two Russian servicemen and two collaborators face war crime charges
The National Police of Ukraine has served a notice of suspicion to two Russian military personnel and two collaborators who brutally tortured a Ukrainian senior sailor between 2022 and 2023. The victim was beaten, electrocuted, and subjected to waterboarding in the occupied territories of Kherson region. This was reported by Book of Torturers citing Main Department of the National Police in Kherson Oblast, according to the portal PromPolitInform.
Law enforcement officers have identified individuals involved in abusing a Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman who was captured on October 3, 2022, in Berislav. The suspects include Dzhambulat Agiyev, a serviceman of the 7th Air Assault Division of the Russian Armed Forces with the call sign “Vedmid”, Russian police officer Sergey Belkin from Krasnoyarsk, as well as local collaborators Valeriy Drozd and Vasyl Shashok, who served in the occupation police force in Chaplynka.
Following his capture, the senior sailor from military unit A2802 was taken to the grounds of a seized machine-building plant in Berislav, where occupation forces had set up a torture chamber. On the night of October 4, 2022, interrogations accompanied by severe violence began in an attempt to extract military intelligence. Acting on Agiyev’s orders, the victim was subjected to simulated drowning by having water poured over his face while tilted backward on a chair, and endured at least 80 strikes.
Electric shock and detention conditions
Subsequently, the Russian serviceman ordered his subordinates to apply electric current to the prisoner. Electricity was fed to his fingers, earlobes, and genitals for several hours under direct supervision until he lost consciousness. On October 6, another beating episode was recorded during an interrogation, resulting in at least 40 additional strikes. Throughout this period, he was held in a metal trailer lacking basic sanitary conditions, adequate food, or medical assistance.
The prisoner was later transferred from Berislav to Chaplynka, where the abuse continued. On October 8, collaborator Shashok walked behind a line of detainees in the courtyard and struck the Ukrainian serviceman at least 10 times on the back and buttocks with a rubber baton without explanation. In early January 2023, occupation police officer Valeriy Drozd ordered the victim to face a wall in the corridor and beat him with a rubber baton, and in late February, Russian police officer Belkin joined in searching and striking the captive in his cell.
Release and legal qualification
In total, the Ukrainian prisoner of war spent about seven months in Chaplynka, detained in overcrowded cells with inadequate sleeping arrangements, insufficient water, and scarce food. On May 15, 2023, he was transferred to Melitopol, and was finally released on February 23, 2024.
The actions of all four suspects have been qualified under Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine as a violation of the laws and customs of war. The criminal proceedings were entered into the pretrial investigation register on March 22, 2022.
Photo: Харківська обласна прокуратура
