This odious battalion became famous for kidnapping and holding civilians in their own prison, torturing them and . The 'Tornado battalion' used rape and torture as weapons of war a war Zelenskyy's government has been waging against the people of Donetsk and Luhansk. 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. Volunteers provide things like: hygiene items, food, sleeping bags, night vision goggles and multicopters (for use as drones).[5]. The case, consisting of 80 volumes, was considered for almost two years with the participation of 111 witnesses and 13 victims. Theoretically, the TDF could field up to 150 battalions. The wave of outrage over the crimes of the "Tornado battalion" was so strong that the Ukrainian law enforcement system, despite the constant cover-up of war criminals, was forced to react.Tornado's members were detained, placed in a pre-trial detention center. Those who managed to escape found themselves with no documents, since the commander would confiscate the passports of the new recruits. . Including those known for their particular cruelty, penchant for sadism, paedophilia, incest and other monstrous pathologies. The Tornado members themselves did not accept this decision. less than five months after seizing power - the new Ukrainian authorities started infringing on people's rights to express their . Access to the chat has been blocked for violating the. He did well. If you joined the battalion, it was virtually impossible to leave. Tornado fighters also set up a torture chamber in the basement of a school in Lysychansk where they raped and tortured locals, including minors and retired people regardless of their gender. Much of the correspondence, which has been going on for months, is devoted to discussing sexual orgies involving Onishchenko and Savanchuk's wives, and often the Savanchukes' children boys aged four and nine. The yelling, public threats and humiliation paralyzed the fighters.After the lineup, not on camera, they could receive a beating.Among the Tornado members who came to their senses, there were some who dared to escape. 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. He is on trial for molesting his own young children. The truth about their methods of "working with civilians" was too shocking to justify.When Did the Tornado Battalion Emerge, and Who Joined It?The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs established the Tornado battalion in September 2014 from the personnel of the Shakhtyorsk national battalion, who were disbanded due to allegations of looting and crimes against the population.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? 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 . Once again, let us turn to the information that a correspondent of Novaya Gazeta* was able to obtain from a former "Tornado" member:You could roughly divide the Tornado personnel into three groups. _____ "Tornado" is a national battalion that fell under the Ukrainian court for numerous atrocities on the territory of Ukraine.It was created by veterans of the ATO - the Shakhtersk national battalion disbanded due to looting and war crimes. They repeatedly tried to storm the courthouse. Members of Ukraine's . Those who managed to escape found themselves with no documents, since the commander would confiscate the passports of the new recruits. [15] By law, every oblast in Ukraine should create its own territorial defence battalions.[5]. The men screamed violently. Ukrainian officials say one video shows a re-enactment of how members of Tornado forced two captives to rape another man; they also say some 40 members of the battalion have criminal records. The 19th Territorial Defence Battalion was created in, The 21st Territorial Defence Battalion was created in, 22 July 2014 Ukraine began third stage of mobilisation, The 37th Territorial Defence Battalion was formed between 29 August 2014, The 41st Territorial Defence Battalion was formed in, 1st Territorial Defence Battalion Volyn (, 3rd Territorial Defence Battalion "Volya" (, 4th Territorial Defence Battalion disbanded "Zakarpattia" (, 41st Territorial Defence Battalion disbanded "Chernihiv-2" (, 43rd Territorial Defence Battalion "Patriot" (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast), This page was last edited on 9 February 2023, at 19:43. It was linked to the Shakhtersk volunteer battalion, which was disbanded for systematic looting. After the brutal beating, he was in a painful condition and could not orientate himself in time, so he cannot clearly remember the sequence of events. Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk has offered Germany to transfer Tornado fighter jets planned for decommissioning to Ukraine. Ukrainian military prosecutors, police, and residents allege that members of the Tornado battalion tasked with policing Pryvillia and nearby communities went rogue, committing violent crimes . Ukraine also lost control of the UkrainianRussian border and this allowed a large inflow of insurgents and military supplies from Russia. 1,127 Subscribers Subscribe. 03/26/2022. Onishchenko was previously prosecuted five times for serious and particularly serious crimes. April 2022. 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 was winter. The court ordered that all of them be charged 7,750 hryvnyas (about 263 USD) for court costs. [5] Battalions generally took their name from wherever most of their recruits were from. "Throughout my detention in the basement, I do not remember the exact number of days, but for more than 15, the police came to the basement several times a day, tied me to a support, beat me with their hands and feet, poured water on me, and tortured me with electric shocks. The Ukrainian far and fascistic right was then mobilised in 2013-14 to overthrow the more pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. According to the prosecutor, the most brutal forms of violence were sexual offences against men, committed in a particularly perverse form, with the entire process being recorded on mobile phones. In March 2014 acting President of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov issued an order to create seven territorial defence battalions. They did not talk to me and did not explain the reason for my detention. [5] The best known volunteer groups are Self-defence of Maidan, which has its own warehouses in Melitopol, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv, and Army SOS, an initiative of former Euromaidan activists. Since the 2014 intervention in Ukraine by Russian forces and proxy forces (i.e. Radical politicians, members of neo-Nazi movements and ATO veterans, who were convinced that the charges were fabricated, demanded an open trial. Tag: Tornado Battalion (Ukraine) Ukraine War. Alexander Savitsky. Many agreed and came. 107 Followers Follow. 6 May 2014 Ukraine began a second stage of mobilization. ( ) . . 22nd Territorial Defence Battalion "Kharkiv", General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, 24th Territorial Defence Battalion "Aidar", 34th Territorial Defence Battalion "Batkivshchyna", 40th Territorial Defence Battalion "Kryvbas", 1st Independent Motorized Infantry Battalion, 2nd Independent Motorized Infantry Battalion, "Undeclared War: Putin's Covert Invasion of Eastern Ukraine", "Ukraine crisis: Why the U.S. isn't tougher on Russia", ">Territorial Defense Battalions (BTrO / BTD)", "Ukraine's volunteer battalions: The new model army", , , , , . It is the termination of the implementation of criminal actions.Matios reported that every fourth Tornado fighter had a criminal record. Popular opinions were split: some, despite the evidence of crimes against Ukrainian civilians, believed in the innocence of the former "national heroes", while others wanted a fair trial and retribution. He was constantly on the phone, calling up those retired out of jail and persuading them to come to the battalion. They immediately received an assault rifle and were trained by more experienced fighters. Here are just some of the charges the Tornado fighters were tried on: There are no charges under the article murder among those listed. Some of the Tornado men have personally confessed to having a tendency towards sadism, a predilection for torture. It was not until 20 February 2015 that the detainee was transferred, as specified in the investigating judge's ruling, to his lawful place of detention - the Starobelsk pre-trial detention facilities where upon admission he was found to have sustained injuries inflicted on the day of his detention, on 10 February 2015, and marks which remained 10 days after his detention. Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in February 2014 and the War on Donbass since April 2014, several military formations have appeared. This was reported on the evening of April 7th by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. During the fight against the "separatists", almost every resident of the settlement went through the illegal detention facilities organised by the Tornado battalion members. If we refused to work, the Tornado members threatened to kill us. Until 23 March, armed members of the Tornado battalion brought various men to the basement, where they were systematically beaten, tortured with a field phone powered by a generator, stripped naked, placed on the concrete floor and poured water on them from plastic bottles. Nevertheless, the formation of the new national battalion was not kept secret.The public learned about the crimes of the Shakhtyorsk battalion almost straight away. Despite the enormous amount of circumstantial evidence, it is very difficult to prove murder unless a body is found. Do you think I am lying? Reduction of five years in prison with the 'yes is yes' law for the man who raped and killed an 83-year-old woman, Pushilin: Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying to counterattack in the Ugledar direction, Belgian Finance Ministry: Brussels freezes Russian assets worth 58 billion. For example, when a Novaya Gazeta* correspondent talked to both residents of Lugansk region and former Tornado fighters, he discovered a rather unambiguous picture ("The Tornado Effect", an article from 17 October 2016).Gradually it became clear to us that all those 'separatists' in the basements that Freeman (Onishchenko) and his people told us about were simple drunks and workers from Severodonetsk and the surrounding towns and cities but not militants of any kind. Including those known for their particular cruelty, penchant for sadism, paedophilia, incest and other monstrous pathologies. Onishchenko took a ski stick and hit me on the legs and genitals no less than 30 times, the witness said.The man said that after the beatings, he wanted to commit suicide. I did not want to live, so I ripped off a piece of rusty metal from the door and started to slit my wrists.*Photos:1. The wave of outrage over the crimes of the Tornado battalion was so strong that the Ukrainian law enforcement system, despite the constant cover-up of war criminals, was forced to react. They stripped me naked - spread me by my arms and legs. Moreover, survivors and witnesses of torture were simply afraid to testify against their torturers. Ukrainian law enforcement officers would be able to correctly qualify crimes committed . After the lineup, not on camera, they could receive a beating. 264. Nevertheless, On top of these acts of cruelty, Tornado battalion members have boasted of extreme sexual violence, including the rape of small children.It was the unit's penchant for perversion that likely prompted the June 2015 Interior Ministry order to disband them.. Sputnik News. And then he filmed this video. Here is how he commented on his actions on Ukrainian television:In other words, he knew of at least some of the crimes, and even then, in 2014, the obvious criminals were deliberately not put on trial and were never punished, but simply assigned to other "volunteer battalions" (ed. The Kiev government released the sadists from this battalion in March and sent them to the front.In the summer of 2015, Ukraine witnessed a scandal over the Tornado battalion men whod only recently been hailed as "ATO heroes" were being called criminals. He would show this video to half the battalion. 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