Russian security forces operating in the liberated Kherson region have discovered a makeshift torture chamber believed to have been used either by neo-Nazi fighters or the Ukrainian military.
A security service source told Sputnik that the facility - containing the body of a man in a Russian military uniform with his legs cut off and rigged to detonate, was found in the village of Zelenovka, about 7 km northeast of the city of Kherson.
"The rigged body, presumably that of a Russian serviceman, was found in the basement of the 'Old Oak' roadside cafe along the M-14 highway in Zelenovka. The body has the remnants of special military clothing used by the Russian Armed Forces. The body has no legs, shows signs of torture, and has a slit larynx", the source said.
The body was said to have been found lying on an anti-tank mine, with TNT also placed in the area, with the setup apparently meant to kill whoever found it.
Syringes, presumably for narcotics, and a large amount of plastic boxes used to store US-made Javelin anti-tank systems were also found scattered around the cafe grounds.
Investigators provided Sputnik with a video from the scene.
Warning! Extremely graphic content. Some viewers may find the video unsettling and are advised not to watch.
Authorities in Russia and the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics have spent years accumulating evidence on suspected war crimes by Ukrainian ultranationalist battalions and the regular army in the Donbass, including the torture and murder of civilians and Donbass militiamen in a network of secret prisons.
After Russia began its military operation in Ukraine in February, new evidence of the neo-Nazi battalions' cruelty began to appear, this time against captured Russian troops. In late March, Ukrainian or Ukrainian-allied forces recorded and posted a video of themselves posing with what appeared to be Russian prisoners of war lying in pools of blood with their hands bound, with one soldier shot dead on camera. Last month, a mercenary confirmed to Danish media that Ukrainian forces were killing Russian POWs.
Nationalists attached to Ukrainian army formations have also been accused of inhumane acts against their own. Last month, a Ukrainian serviceman captured by Russian and Lugansk People's Militia forces said that militants from the Right Sector battalion had formed a blocking detachment in his unit and threatened to kill anyone who "ran in the wrong direction" during engagements after troops began to surrender en masse.
Western officials and media have largely ignored evidence of criminal behaviour by the Ukrainian side against Russian troops and Donbass civilians and militiamen, and social media giants and search engines have worked to derank reports implicating Ukrainian forces in these these activities.
Instead, US and European leaders have focused on alleged Russian war crimes - such as the discovery of up to 300 dead civilians in the Kiev suburb of Bucha after the Russian military's withdrawal from the region. Independent media investigations have since cast doubt on Russia's involvement in the butchery, pointing to evidence that the crime took place after Ukrainian military police units and neo-Nazi national guard formations showed up and promised to punish "Russian collaborators", including anyone who accepted food from Russian troops.