In liberated Kherson, Ukrainian authorities say they’ve discovered a torture cell for child prisoners

The Ukrainian authorities say they have discovered a cell used for holding minors in a makeshift prison set up by the Russian military in occupied Kherson.

Dmytro Lubinets, Verkhovna Rada commissioner for human rights, reported the discovery, citing evidence that torture had been used:

We have documented the first case of torture perpetrated on children. According to witness testimonies from people who were kept there, this cell was used for Ukrainian children. The invaders themselves called it “the kids’ cell.”

Children were locked in the damp cell, “practically without food” and getting water every other day. Lubinets says they were subjected to psychological pressure: in particular, the guards told child prisoners that their parents had abandoned them.

Lubinets also learned that “one of the boys, aged 14, had been arrested after taking some photos of broken Russian equipment. He was kept in the cell and tortured.”

In wartime, it is impossible to verify new information immediately, even if it comes from official sources.