Konstantin Yefremov escaped Russia after serving three months as a lieutenant in Zaporizhzhia oblast
Yefremov was previously based in Chechnya in the Russian army’s 42nd Motorised Rifle Division, where he was involved in mine clearance. At the beginning of February last year, two weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine, he said he was sent with his unit to Crimea to take part in what he was told were military exercises.
Soon, his unit was driven to occupied Melitopol, where he would be stationed for most of the next three months.Yefremov told the Guardian he personally witnessed how his superiors tortured three Ukrainian soldiers captured in the town of Bilmak, to the north-east of Melitopol, in April. “During interrogations, they were beaten for a whole week, every day, sometimes even at night,” he said.
The Guardian was unable to independently confirm Yefremov’s allegations of torture. However, they fit with reports from international human rights specialists on the treatment of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians in detention, including reports of severe beatings and sexual violence.
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