Ukrainian woman recounts being forced by Russian troops to dig her own grave
Mike Brest
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A middle-aged Ukrainian woman from Kherson told House lawmakers that she was held captive by Russian forces who demanded she dig her own grave.
Two Ukrainian victims held captive by Russian troops and Andriy Kostin, prosecutor general of Ukraine, testified in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, where they all recounted horrific scenes and events that have unfolded during Russia’s roughly 14-month war in Ukraine.
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One of the Ukrainians who addressed lawmakers, a 57-year-old woman, was not publicly identified, but she recounted that Russian troops took her to a torture chamber where she was kept for five days. The Russians cut her with a knife, threatened to rape and kill her, fired a gun next to her head as if executing her, and then forced her to dig her own grave.
“They also forced me to dig my own grave,” said the woman through a translator. “After all the torture, they let me go. But they said they would come back.”
She said she was able to flee back into Ukrainian-controlled territory and ultimately traveled through Crimea, Latvia, and Poland. The woman’s daughter is a U.S. citizen, she added.
Kostin told the committee that the Russian war has allegedly committed more than 80,000 war crimes and crimes of aggression, including the abduction of nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children with the intent of indoctrinating them as Russians.
Russia’s alleged war crimes have long been documented, though the scope and scale continue to grow as the war continues without a resolution. Throughout the war, Ukrainian forces have uncovered apparent war crimes in cities and towns that they liberate from Russian occupation, and there have been reports of torture, executions, and sexual violence.
“Over a thousand torture chamber survivors submitted their evidence,” Kostin explained. “Survivors report that Russian forces subjected them to different forms of abuse, including beating with sticks and rubber batons, use of electric shocks, waterboarding, stripping them naked, threats of death or mutilation, and others. Moreover, they were forced to shout pro-Russian slogans … while during [the] night, they were hearing screams of others being beaten.”
The committee also heard the testimony of a minor through a Ukrainian attorney. The teenage boy was taken and deported to Russia, where a new Russian family attempted to “reshape his mind” by forcing him to watch propaganda and restricting his communication.
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Deputy U.S. Attorney General Lisa Monaco also testified on Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding accountability for Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
“Russia has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine,” Monaco said, according to her prepared remarks. “We cannot — we will not — let war criminals escape accountability for the aggression and atrocities they have committed. The Justice Department has a clear message for those who have committed these crimes and who think they can get away with it: You will face justice.”