KYIV -- Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Iryna Venediktova has released the names of 10 Russian soldiers suspected of torturing civilians in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv, during weeks of occupation.
Venediktova said on April 28 that the soldiers of the 64th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade of the Russian armed forces are suspected of "cruelty toward civilians and other war crimes."
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She identified the suspects as privates Grigory Naryshkin, Vasily Knyazev, Sergei Peskaryov, and Albert Radnayev; corporals Semyon Maltsev, Mikhail Kashin, Andrei Bizyayev, and Dmitry Sergienko; Junior Sergeant Vyacheslav Lavrentyev; and Sergeant Nikita Akimov.
"In a short period of time, investigations revealed that during the occupation of Bucha these very persons took unarmed civilians hostage, tortured them with hunger and thirst, kept them on their knees with their hands tied and their eyes taped, humiliated, and beat them,” Venediktova said.
The beatings were to get the civilians to provide information about the location of Ukrainian armed forces and territorial defense forces, she said, but many were tortured without reason.
Russian military servicemen threatened their victims with death and fired guns in their direction. There is also evidence proving that the 10 Russian soldiers robbed residents of their personal items, Venediktova said.
Ukrainian investigators said they are continuing to gather evidence and that these are just the first 10 to be named.
Venediktova added that investigations are under way to find out if the 10 Russians took part in the killings of civilians in Bucha.
The retreat of Russian forces from the town last month revealed harrowing evidence of brutal killings, torture, mass graves, and the indiscriminate targeting of civilians in the fighting, prompting calls from several countries, as well as the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC), for investigations to determine whether war crimes were committed.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on April 28 backed the ICC investigation into war crimes in Bucha. It is important to thoroughly investigate the horrors and hold those responsible to account, Guterres said during a visit to the town.