Investigation: Outnumbered and outgunned, a brave few Ukrainian civilians have fought back against the Russian onslaught, forming resistance units to defend homes and loved ones | Reporting by Anthony Galloway and geraghtyk
In an apartment in the relative safety of Kyiv, now a world away from the Ukrainian city she escaped from after her husband was beaten to death, Alyona Lapchuk is preparing for an international mission to seek justice.
The 48-year-old had left the military years ago but wanted to defend his city, on the south coast of Ukraine. On the night of March 27, they agreed to meet at a garage owned by one of the platoon commanders within their unit. A month into the Russian occupation of the city, clandestine meetings in dark rooms were a regular occurrence for Vitaliy Lapchuk and his two comrades.When Alyona couldn’t get in touch with Vitaliy for hours, she knew he had been captured.
Alyona admonished the soldiers for invading Ukraine. Then a soldier named Andrey, who had a badge representing the Moscow-backed separatist state, the Donetsk People’s Republic, said “one more word and your teeth will be broken.”They took the family’s hunting weapons, mobile phones, computers, gold and cash, and Vitaliy took another beating in the basement of the house.Kate Geraghty
When they returned home, they found their house had been destroyed by a missile. They went to her mother’s house, only to find it had been hit by a cluster bomb. However, with areas such as Kherson still under Russian occupation, the true extent of Russia’s summary executions could be much higher.“These have been where Russian forces have been targeting certain individuals they consider are linked to the Ukrainian forces or have been providing support, and once they have identified them, they have just arbitrarily or summarily executed them.”
Maidan residents stand among sandbags arranged to say “Help Us” in front of a wall of flags from countries supporting Ukraine.Anton, 35, was accused of being a Nazi because of his bald head. He was accused of being a member of a Ukrainian far right political group, the Right Sector, because of his red and white jacket. He was accused of being an American agent because of his Simpsons boxer shorts.
The agents then turned to Denys, beating him in the head and groin while threatening to cut off his genitals. After he fell to the floor, they took off his pants and hit him in the bottom and legs with batons.
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