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Hundreds ‘disappeared’ in Ukraine's Kherson in Russian control: Report
Russia-Ukraine War: Russia “must halt these operations and withdraw its forces to end a needless war” the US state department said.
Hundreds of people were jailed or went missing in the Kherson region of Ukraine this year while it was under Russian control. These people may have been tortured, Reuters reported quoting a research by Yale University which was sponsored by the US State Department.
Russia "must halt these operations and withdraw its forces to end a needless war that it cannot and will not win – no matter how despicable and desperate its tactics," the State Department stated in a statement regarding the findings.
Read more: Half of Ukraine's energy grid damaged, Kyiv could see shutdown: Top updates
The study details the detentions and disappearances of 226 persons in Kherson between March and October, of whom a quarter are said to have been tortured. Five of the people passed away while being held or shortly after, the research showed.
The report was produced by the Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health and the Conflict Observatory, a US State Department-funded initiative that was started in May to gather and examine proof of war crimes and other potential atrocities committed by Russia in Ukraine.
Russia has denied that its soldiers have carried out atrocities or targeted people.
This comes as Ukraine said that Russian missile strikes have crippled almost half of Ukraine's energy system. Authorities in the capital Kyiv also warned that the city could face a "complete shutdown" of the power grid.
