Three Ukrainian officers, who were taken as prisoners by Russia and later released, have accused their captures of torture and psychological pressure.
The soldiers were part of a squad that spent weeks fighting from the huge steel works in the southern port of Mariupol after the Russian invasion.
In a news conference, they stated that they had been captured while they were wounded and that their captors wanted them to confess to crimes against civilians.
“I was interrogated even before I started receiving antibiotics after my limb was amputated,” said Vladyslav Zhaivoronok, one of the trio Ukrainian officers, who lost a leg in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.
“The guys who were there were tortured. Some had needles inserted into their wounds, some were tortured with water, some received inadequate treatment,” he further added.
Denys Chepurko, who was taken as a prisoner alongside Vladyslav Zhaivoronok also spoke of his torture experience.
He said some prisoners had been forced to strip naked and then squat.
“They wanted us to testify against our commanders, (to say) we had bombed the city, they wanted to shift the blame on us. I said I wouldn’t do it,” stated Denys Chepurko.
“They started beating me with sticks. I didn’t sign anything,” he said.
The third former prisoner, Dmytro Usychenko, said: “They threatened us with physical reprisals, shooting … they wanted us to confess that we killed civilians although we did no such thing”.
The three were later exchanged for Russian prisoners of war.
Russia’s defence ministry has however not responded to the allegations.