FAKE: russian troops do not commit crimes in Kherson and Zaporizhia regions

The network spreads information that the russian army allegedly does not commit crimes in the occupied settlements in Kherson and Zaporizhia (Kherson, Berdyansk, Melitopol, etc.). This information began to be spread on Facebook at least from April 6, 2022, after the facts of mass killings of civilians in the Kyiv region during the russian occupation became known. Similar reports continued to be circulated in May .

However, this is a fake. In fact, it is known about numerous crimes of the russian army in the occupied territories of Kherson and Zaporizhia regions.

First, when considering the crimes of russians in the occupied territories, it should be borne in mind that neither the Ukrainian media nor Ukrainian officials have full access to information about the situation in the regions. Therefore, the full list of crimes in the occupied settlements will be known only after their deoccupation.

Secondly, even under such limited conditions, there are constant reports of mass crimes committed by the russian army: abduction, torture, rape, injury and murder. Here are just a few examples:

• 5 civilians were shot dead by the russian military near Nova Kakhovka (Kherson Oblast).
• March 5: In the Zaporizhia region, the russians killed 2 civilians.
• March 11: The russian occupiers kidnapped the mayor of Melitopol (he was released on March 16). There were also cases of abduction in the Kherson region: the mayor of Skadovsk (March 16), the former head of the Kherson Regional State Administration (April 9), the head of the Bekhter community in the Kherson region.
• March 12: According to journalist Konstantin Ryzhenko, russian security forces began harassing and detaining Ukrainian activists, journalists and ex-servicemen in occupied Kherson. The same crimes were reported in the Zaporizhia region.
• March 21: russian forces forcibly dispersed a peaceful protest in Kherson. At least one protester was detained and several were injured. The same thing happened during the following actions: for example, on April 27, the russians used force again, as a result of which 4 people were injured.
• April 2: russians injure 4 civilians protesting in Energodar, Zaporizhia Oblast.
• April 7: The head of the Kryvyi Rih military administration reports that the russian occupiers raped a 16-year-old pregnant girl and a 78-year-old woman in the Kherson region.
• April 12: In the village of Pravdyne in the Kherson region, the occupiers killed 7 civilians.
• April 20: The head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration (KRMA) says that Ukrainians evacuating from the Kherson region to the Dnipropetrovsk region report russian crimes: ill-treatment, beatings, abductions, and rapes of women.
• April 30: Nazar Kagalnyak, a former military man, dies because of russian torture in the Kherson region .
• April 30: Zaporizhzhia RMA reported that as of April 28, the occupiers had abducted 213 civilians in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, 88 of whom are still in captivity.
• May 6: According to Tamila Tasheva, Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in Crimea, russians detain and torture about 500 people in basements in the occupied territories of Kherson Oblast . In addition, videos of victims of torture have already appeared online.
• May 12: In the evening, russian troops fired artillery at a peaceful convoy of migrants leaving the Kherson region. Several civilians were injured.