Torture, electric shocks, extinguishing cigarette butts on the body, and suffocation with smoke in a bag over the head - this is how the deputy commander of the 3rd battalion of the 204th motorized rifle regiment of the 2nd army corps of the "LPR," along with other Russian soldiers, tormented a resident of the village of Ivanivka in the Izium district in the spring of 2022.

He threatened the man and his wife with murder, beat him with fists, pressed a gun to him, and simulated gunshots, trying to force him to confess to collaborating with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. After that, the victim was forcibly taken to an "isolation facility" in the village of Levkivka, where the torture continued for another three hours. In addition, the man’s car and other belongings were confiscated.

In another case, during a search of a resident of the village of Levkivka, the occupiers discovered Ukrainian symbols. A militant brutally beat the man and ordered him to be taken in an unknown direction. The whereabouts of the victim are still unknown. His family's property was looted.

Under the procedural guidance of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, a militant of the "LPR" has been notified of suspicion in absentia for acts of treason (Part 1 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), and for cruel treatment of the civilian population, as well as other violations of the laws and customs of war, committed by a group of persons in conspiracy (Part 2 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Prosecutors continue to identify other occupiers involved in the torture of civilians during the capture of Kharkiv region.

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by investigators of the Security Service of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region with operational support from the 7th department (servicing the Kharkiv region) of the National Police of Ukraine's Criminal Investigation Department.

According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a lawful manner and established by a guilty verdict of a court.

It is worth noting that at the end of 2025, prosecutors submitted to the court a case against 18 individuals involved in the abuse of peaceful residents in occupied Kupiansk. More than 90 victims have been identified.