Russian soldiers have carved swastikas into the foreheads of Ukrainian prisoners of war, a doctor claims.
A Ukrainian soldier named only Serhiy was found mutilated and suffering from psychological trauma when he returned to his home country from Russian captivity.
Dr. Olexandr Turkevich said he treated Serhiy, who told him how Russian soldiers threatened to “take him apart piece by piece” while in their custody.
'I want your children to know that you are fascist. That's why I cut deep,” a Russian soldier reportedly told Serhiy, who was blindfolded, as he cut his face.
Russia claims its 'Special Military Operation' in Ukraine is a de-Nazification effort aimed at defending Russian-controlled areas in the east and south.
President Vladimir Putin has instructed his armed forces propaganda claiming that Ukraine had committed genocide against Russian speakers in the region and that the government was organized by neo-Nazis under Western influence.
Doctors believe the Ukrainian prisoner of war was mutilated with a knife in Russian captivity
Serhiy has undergone laser surgery to reduce the scars from the wounds he suffered last year
According to Dr. Turkevich: “These photos… show what kind of creatures our men at the front are dealing with,” the medic said.
Serhiy 'had a swastika cut in his forehead by these pig dogs…
'He told how, when they cut open his forehead, they said: “If you were an Azov man, I would take you apart piece by piece…”
Azov's assault brigade – which played a key role in the defense of Mariupol – is seen by the Russians as having far-right or Nazi ties.
Serhiy had nothing left to clean up the gaping wound he suffered and refused medical treatment as a prisoner of war.
The knife-carved swastika is “direct evidence” of genocide by the Russians, Dr. Turkevich said.
He was “infinitely proud” of the work he was able to do to remove the Nazi mark from the man's forehead, which doctors believe was cut with a knife.
The medical procedure falls under the Neopalymi initiative for aesthetic medicine, which aims to help Ukrainian soldiers who suffered disfiguring injuries or torture during the war.
Two Ukrainian soldiers are now known to be being treated for swastika burnings.
They underwent laser treatment to reduce scarring.
'Badges of shame' have been used since ancient times. Prisoners, those accused of adultery and religious groups have been branded by various sects over the years as an act of punishment.
Quentin Tarantino's 2009 film Inglorious Basterds famously followed the story of fictional American soldiers in World War II as they branded Nazi soldiers with swastikas.
Serhiy was captured by Russian forces in Ukraine's occupied Donetsk region last December.
He was taken to a processing center and tortured for two weeks, locked in a basement without food and raised to be beaten unconscious, The Telegraph reports.
Serhiy was eventually transferred to Chechnya, a republic of Russia, and released five months later in a prisoner exchange.
The soldier still struggles to talk about his experiences, according to The Telegraph.
The body of a Ukrainian rape victim, pixelated, shows an exposed torso covered in bruises, with a large Swastika symbol burned and scratched into the skin
Bodies lie on the streets of Bucha, northwest of Kiev, as Russian troops “rapidly withdrew” from the northern areas around Kiev and the city of Chernigiv on April 2, 2022.
Graves of unknown people killed by Russian soldiers during the occupation of the city of Bucha are seen in the city's cemetery, March 30, 2023
People walk through rubble and destroyed Russian military vehicles on the street on April 6, 2022 in Bucha, Ukraine
In April last year, a woman was found branded with a swastika, a Ukrainian lawmaker claimed.
Lesia Vasylenko, a lawmaker for the liberal Holos party, shared on Twitter an image of what she said was the “tortured body of a raped and murdered woman.”
The gruesome photo showed a bare torso covered in bruises, with a large Swastika symbol burned and scratched into the skin.
'Russian soldiers loot, rape and kill… Women with swastika-shaped burns. Russia. Russian men did this,” Ms. Vasylenko said at the time.
Russia is accused of committing several war crimes during its campaign in Ukraine.
Images from the towns of Bucha and Irpin last year showed the bodies of hundreds of civilians lying in the streets and buried in mass graves.
Amnesty International concluded that Russian forces had unlawfully killed civilians in Bucha, Andriivka, Zdvyzhivka and Vorzel.
“All those responsible for war crimes must be held criminally responsible for their actions. “Under the doctrine of command responsibility, hierarchical superiors… who knew or had reason to know about war crimes committed by their forces, but did not attempt to stop them or punish those responsible, should also be held criminally responsible,” he said. the report. a statement at the time.
At a meeting in London last March, following the issuance of an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, Ukraine's Attorney General Andriy Kostin spoke of “ruthless” attacks and “atrocities” by Russian soldiers against civilians and territories.
“Russia is acting with a clear plan to destroy Ukraine and Ukrainian identity,” he said at the time.
'The deportation and transport of thousands of Ukrainian children, including from orphanages and care homes, to Russia.
“Simplifying their illegal adoption process and confirming their citizenship from an aggressive state is very clear evidence of this plan. This is done to cut ties with Ukraine and change their Ukrainian heritage.
A dead civilian is seen next to his bicycle on a road near the forest in Bucha, April 2, 2022
“My office has already initiated investigations into more than 72,000 incidents of war crimes.
“Isolated and sporadic attacks, we see Russian foot soldiers scrupulously carrying out the Kremlin's unlawful orders.”
The 123 member states of the International Criminal Court are now obliged to detain and hand over Putin if he sets foot on their territory.