Female soldiers stripped naked, forced to cut their hair in Russian captivity: Ukraine

Kyiv: The female soldiers captured by the Russian forces were "subjected to torture", according to a Ukrainian human rights official.

The official claimed that more than a dozen female Ukrainian soldiers captured by Russian forces were "subjected to torture and ill-treatment in captivity".

According to CNN, 15 women were among 86 soldiers released from Russian captivity on Friday.

The female soldiers were captured by the Russian forces, taken to Belarus and then to a pre-trial detention center in Bryansk, Russia, where they were subjected to "torture and threats", Lyudmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, said on her official Telegram page.

Denisova further claimed that the female soldiers were stripped naked in presence of men, forced to squat, cut their hair, and interrogated to break their morale. They were also forced to take part in the filming of Russian propaganda videos, CNN reported.

Slamming Russia's actions, Denisova said, "I call on the UN Commission for Investigation Human Rights Violations of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine and the expert mission set up by OSCE participating states under the Moscow Mechanism to consider these violations of the rights of Ukrainian prisoners of war."

On Monday, the human rights official said that the Ukrainian prisoners of war were subjected to beatings, starvation, frostbite, and intimidation while in Russian captivity.

Last week after long negotiations, both countries exchanged 86 prisoners from each side marking the conflict's largest prisoner swap till now. (UNI)

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