In the basement of the school 32 in the city of Pryvillia fighters of the 'Tornado' battalion 'Mojahed' and 'Bizon' tortured an unknown man with a stun gun. The Obolonsky regional court of Kiev announced the sentences of militants of the "Tornado" battalion, which were accused of tortures, rapes, and the murders of civilians of Donbass. The Russian Communist Party pushed to label the battalions as terrorist organizations, even though they are directly subordinate to the Government of Ukraine and are legal government agencies of Ukraine. In February 2022, prisoners with military experience who were ready to take part in combat activity, under martial law, started to be released from their places of detention, a prosecutor's office official, Andriy Sinyuk, told reporters. There has been scary rumours about their basements". They stripped me naked - spread me by my arms and legs. The Ukrainian military revolted after they had learnt that Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov was planning to disband the Tornado battalion KIEV, June 18 /TASS/. Veterans of the Azov Battalion, who took part in the war with Russia-backed separatists in the east of Ukraine, salute during a mass 'No Surrender' rally in Kyiv in March 2020 Sergei Supinsky . Danil Lyashuk received ten years in prison. [31] In social media statements by the TDF, several previously unseen battalion numbers (some exceeding the theoretical 150 number), such as the 103rd,[32] 124th,[33] 130th,[34] 251st [35] etc. Both the prosecution and the defence said that they were going to appeal against the verdict as one side considered it too lenient and the other too severe. Here are just some of the charges the Tornado fighters were tried on: There are no charges under the article murder among those listed. It should be recalled that the victims and survivors of the crimes, first and foremost, the raped men, asked for a closed trial.At one point, the campaign to protect these Heroes of ATO in the press and on social media gained such momentum that Chief Military Prosecutor of Ukraine Anatoliy Matios decided to reveal the atrocities of the Tornado fighters live on 112 Ukraine TV.The Protocol I described the events of 17-23 March 2015.From around 17.03.2015 to 23.03.2015, members of the Tornado battalion, I am sure of it, regularly brought various men to the basement, who were systematically beaten. 45 , , Zaporizhia Oblast will create a new battalion of heavy machinery, "Territorial Defence Battalion disbanded due to looting", "Russian Communist Party wants Ukrainians fighting in the east classified as "terrorists", People's Front names top ten candidates in elections, Poroshenko Bloc to have greatest number of seats in parliament, People's Front 0.33% ahead of Poroshenko Bloc with all ballots counted in Ukraine elections CEC, Poroshenko Bloc to get 132 seats in parliament CEC, Video of first brawl in Verkhovna Rada becomes a YouTube hit, "Frontline politics: Ukraine fighters run for parliament", War veterans steal limelight in Ukraine's new parliament, ": ", " ", "In Ukraine will be formed more than 150 territorial defence battalions", "Verkhovna Rada approves decree on mobilisation in Ukraine", "Ukrainian Defense Ministry to create 150 reservist battalions", https://twitter.com/TDF_UA/status/1593887552892796928, , https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ukrainian_territorial_defence_battalions&oldid=1138452268, 17 March 2014 Ukraine began first stage of, 18 March 2014 3rd Territorial Defence Battalion was created in, 19 March 2014 the Defence Regiment was created in, 6th Territorial Defence Battalion was created in, 9th Territorial Defence Battalion was created in, 23 April 2014 The 13th Territorial Defence Battalion was created in, 24 April 2014 The 15th Territorial Defence Battalion was created in, The 17th Territorial Defence Battalion was created in. . The head of the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic in Ukraine has been seen in a video awarding a medal to a fighter for helping to kill "more than 250 nationalists." Published on April 3 through . Yuri Shevchenko received a sentence of five years in prison. After the lineup, not on camera, they could receive a beating. Court and prosecutor's office staff members at one point began to walk into the trial with umbrellas.Rallies of support for the Tornadoes were held outside the court building and supporters threatened to take the building by storm. However, they never rushed there, preferring to engage in torture, provocation, mockery and robbery behind the lines.Among the released former fighters of the punitive battalion is Danil Lyashuk, known by his moniker "Mujahid". In total, I was kept in the basement for 17-18 days. According to its data, the former commander of the disbanded company of . The "Whites", fighters that were former police officers who were discharged or had not been re-certified in the summer of 2015 and came to serve in the battalion. The court ordered that all of them be charged 7,750 hryvnyas (about 263 USD) for court costs. Here is a video of the 'lineup' that Onishchenko, a battalion commander and repeated criminal, held for those who were disillusioned and wanted to leave the Tornado. At one point, the campaign to protect these Heroes of ATO in the press and on social media gained such momentum that Chief Military Prosecutor of Ukraine Anatoliy Matios decided to reveal the atrocities of the Tornado fighters live on 112 Ukraine TV. One of the detainees was forced to suck and lick a plastic tube and imitate oral sex and pretend to suck a penis. The court ruled to commute the sentence by releasing him from prison and imposing a probation period of three years.Roman Ivash, Nikita Sviridovskiy and Andrei Demchuk were released from the sentence with two years' probation.All those convicted fall under the Savchenko Law (one day in pre-trial detention counts as two days in prison). Then, according to the reports, they were held for some time with plastic bags over their heads, subjected to beatings and forced to do hard, dirty work.Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov personally disbanded Shakhtyorsk. Many agreed and came.The battalion also had a category of "white" and "grey" fighters.The "Whites", fighters that were former police officers who were discharged or had not been re-certified in the summer of 2015 and came to serve in the battalion. In March 2014 acting President of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov issued an order to create seven territorial defence battalions. Tens of thousands of people in Europe marched to protest against the Wests military aid to Ukraine. In 2015, criminal proceedings were opened against members of the Tornado special-purpose police battalion. This prompted bewilderment and outrage during the trial in the summer of 2015 among some of the authorities: how could it be that a special police unit had recruited criminals, and who could have allowed this to happen? According to the investigation, members of Tornado installed a torture chamber on the first floor of a local school. Between 17 and 23 March 2015, Tornado members systematically used the basement to beat male civilians. Moreover, survivors and witnesses of torture were simply afraid to testify against their torturers. A veteran of the Ukrainian national guard's Azov Battalion conducts military exercises for civilians in Kyiv, Ukraine on January 30, 2022 [File: Gleb Garanich/Reuters] Published On 1 Mar 2022 1 . Those caught would be returned to the Tornado, where the same pattern of beatings and torture would be repeated. The Tornado battalion itself was born out of the remains of the fascist Shakhtarsk battalion, which was disbanded after its members were accused of human . Robot. The Special Police Forces (Ukrainian: ) is a Ukrainian volunteer corps of law enforcement units, part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. In one of their recently released videos, Daniil Lyashuk, a former militant of the Ukrainian battalion Tornado, nicknamed Mujahid, who had previously been sentenced to 10 years in prison for war crimes in the Donbass, cheered his freedom and issued more threats against Russians. It is unknown what they really agreed upon with the Tornado fighters, but later Avakov said that the battalion obeyed his orders and respected discipline and order.What Criminal Charges Did the Tornado Fighters Face?Here are just some of the charges the Tornado fighters were tried on:There are no charges under the article murder among those listed. 2. There has been scary rumours about their basements".A woman told reporters that she had barely managed to save her 9-year-old daughter from the drunken Tornado fighters, who were about to rape the little girl.How the Court ProceededWhen you watch the video footage of the trial, it is shocking how brazen and insolent the Tornado fighters are, apparently confident that they can get away with anything. Fast forward to 2022. Right Sector, and Tornado battalions . At about 0430 on the morning of 11 July, a column of battalions from the Ukrainian 24th and 72nd Mechanized Brigades and 79th Airmobile Brigade was struck with an intense artillery barrage near Zelenopillya. 264. Here is a video of the 'lineup' that Onishchenko, a battalion commander and repeated criminal, held for those who were disillusioned and wanted to leave the Tornado. Atrocities committed by the nationalist volunteer battalions during the Ukrainian conflicts have been well-documented by international human rights groups and . 107 Followers Follow. In autumn 2014 most of the territorial defence battalions were reorganized as motorized infantry battalions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The volunteer battalion was formed in 2014, and recognized by the interior ministry, and fought in eastern Ukraine in the ongoing conflict against the separatist Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Alexander Savitsky. Tornado's members were detained, placed in a pre-trial detention center. The detainees were also forced to rape each other anally and orally. [5] These resources soon proved to be inadequate and numerous groups have helped to equip the battalions. Members of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine's commissions and psychologists are working with the soldiers of the Tornado . Theoretically, the TDF could field up to 150 battalions. They put me in the basement An hour or two passed Onishchenko arrived and was glad they had brought me. were mentioned, indicating that the TDF has likely expanded far past the initially planned size. Immediately after the detention, they stripped the man down to his underwear, searched him, and hit him several times without finding anything. People live so poor there, anyone who has been to Stanitsa Luganskaya knows that it reminds of Stalingrad because everything is smashed and bombed, they took away juice from a 10-month-old baby; I have no words to describe that". Several armed volunteer militia groups are taking part in Ukraine's "Anti-Terrorist Operation," the government's fight against separatists in the east of the country. It was winter. Volodymyr Savanchuk, a volunteer, is now also on trial. The public learned about the crimes of the Shakhtyorsk battalion almost straight away. Among the released former fighters of the punitive battalion is Danil Lyashuk, known by his moniker "Mujahid". The court hearings were held behind closed doors, without public access. He wrote out the roles and lines. When you watch the video footage of the trial, it is shocking how brazen and insolent the Tornado fighters are, apparently confident that they can get away with anything. Both agreed that a public trial was needed. One photo shows Nazi graffiti left on a wall. They did not talk to me and did not explain the reason for my detention. 11 September 2015. It is the termination of the implementation of criminal actions.Matios reported that every fourth Tornado fighter had a criminal record. Among other things, three of the defendants were charged with committing crimes under Part 3 of Article 153 of the Criminal Code (sexual indulgence in perverse forms committed repeatedly or by a group of persons). To get rid of the defenders. In one case of criminal activity, Tornado commander Ruslan Onishchenko forced his ward's girlfriend to masturbate him. They were simply abducted, used as slaves, abused, and some were killed, the newspaper quoted former Tornado fighters and testimony from civilians:Sometimes we were more afraid of them than the shelling. At 10 p.m., we were brought to the school building in our village, where the Tornado battalion was stationed, which everyone knew about, and put me in the basement. SHARES. Two Tornado members recorded the process I mentioned on mobile phones". They were personally loyal to the commander and ready to carry out any assignment. One of Freeman's cronies, codenamed Achilles, who had also served time before the conflict and had connections in criminal circles, specifically collected information on who was released and when. By Interfax-Ukraine. But founder of the Tornado battalion Andriy Filonenko (below, left) and Serhiy Melnychuk, founder and former commander of the Aidar battalion, say Ukraine's elite are simply out to protect themselves. After the beating, they dragged the man to the pit as he fainted several times. The next day, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov signed an order to disband the Tornado battalion.The Tornado members themselves did not accept this decision. Remember when Zelensky said he would release prisoners with . "The Shakhtyorsk battalion, having fought beautifully at Ilovaisk, was disbanded by ministerial order because of repeated incidents of looting in Volnovakha and other instances". The action was part of a live-fire training exercise for new recruits on a recent morning outside the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. The law enforcers did not dare to storm the building. 1,127 Subscribers Subscribe. 2,654 Fans Like. The fighters could come into any house and take whatever they liked.There was an old woman living nearby on Lebedinskogo Street, paralysed, her children had fled the shelling when the conflict started, and her neighbour was looking after her. Photo by Alexander Rychkov Shevchenkivsky District Court of Kyiv has released from custody two former fighters of the Tornado Interior Ministry battalion Mykyta Kust and Maksym Hliebov, both of whom have been placed under . The SNA and the Patriot of Ukraine, together with Svoboda and . 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