. The Ukrainian president's decision to platform the far-right military force backfired dramatically in a country where memories of Golden Dawn are still fresh and the public are questioning the motives of those involved in geopolitical power play, says KEVIN OVENDEN. SHARES. 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? Tornado Battalion fighters training to help wounded soldiers at their base in Luhansk Oblast. The Tornado members themselves did not accept this decision. Moreover, survivors and witnesses of torture were simply afraid to testify against their torturers. In the basement, the men were stripped naked, placed on a concrete floor, and doused with water. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine formed the Tornado battalion in September 2014 on the basis of the personnel of the Shakhtersk national battalion disbanded due to looting and crimes against the population. This was reported on the evening of April 7th by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. [5] Battalions generally took their name from wherever most of their recruits were from. 11 September 2015. It was winter. 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. 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. They were personally loyal to the commander and ready to carry out any assignment. The battalion also had a category of "white" and "grey" fighters. 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. The men screamed violently. Ukraine also lost control of the UkrainianRussian border and this allowed a large inflow of insurgents and military supplies from Russia. But Tornado outdid the latter in the heinousness of its crimes. The leader of the notorious volunteer battalion of Tornado has been released, according to reports. 2. The case itself was reported to consist of 86 volumes. The court ordered that all of them be charged 7,750 hryvnyas (about 263 USD) for court costs. Some of the Tornado men have personally confessed to having a tendency towards sadism, a predilection for torture. "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. Nikita Kusta received a nine-year prison sentence and was stripped of his rank of junior sergeant. They pointed a machine gun at me and said they would shoot me", the victim said.In their conversation with the mother of the deceased Yurchenko, the battalion fighters in court behaved aggressively. "I have no desire to live. separatists militias, mainly located in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic) and related conflicts onwards, i.e. Furthermore, I was forced to do humiliating chores every day, cleaning toilets, collecting cigarette butts, and so on. The court hearings were held behind closed doors, without public access.In one case of criminal activity, Tornado commander Ruslan Onishchenko forced his ward's girlfriend to masturbate him.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. Among the released former fighters of the punitive battalion is Danil Lyashuk, known by his moniker "Mujahid". [5] These resources soon proved to be inadequate and numerous groups have helped to equip the battalions. It is the termination of the implementation of criminal actions.Matios reported that every fourth Tornado fighter had a criminal record. It was found that 43 fighters of the Tornado battalion have criminal records, according to Ukrainian Military Prosecutor Anatoly Matios. 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. The victims did not believe that the same authorities who had thrown them to the mercy of the Tornado fighters would give the battalion a fair trial: today they are behind bars and tomorrow they'll be free taking revenge on those who dared to testify against them (spoiler: indeed that is what happened the defendants were later released).Since the beginning, the court was under enormous pressure from politicians, neo-Nazis and "brothers in arms". Several times, I have found myself in a situation where you bring help to the military and start praying to God to get out of there alive and well. 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 "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. Tornado battalion commander Ruslan Onishchenko received 11 years in prison and was stripped of his rank of police lieutenant. Without my son. The now-famed Ukrainian defendersmostly members of marine and Azov Battalion unitswere increasingly confined to the sprawling Azovstal steel plant, which would become the last bastion of . The said events and torture were recorded by Tornado members on mobile phones. Roman Ivash, Nikita Sviridovskiy and Andrei Demchuk were released from the sentence with two years' probation. Those who managed to escape found themselves with no documents, since the commander would confiscate the passports of the new recruits. Latest Veterans News. 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. The Protocol I described the events of 17-23 March 2015. The police, to whom the Tornado battalion reported the defection of a subordinate, often found those who managed to get home. In 2015, criminal proceedings were opened against members of the Tornado special-purpose police battalion. The Tornado fighters came to this grandmother's house, pulled a new mattress right out from under her and left. They promised to feed us three times a day and give us cigarettes. A Russian journalist has visited the former base of the notorious Ukrainian neo-Nazi Tornado battalion and found evidence of murder, torture, and rape, including of underage girls. The neighbour found her the next morning behind the bed, the granny was dead. Danil Lyashuk received ten years in prison. "He forced me to share a room with him. In 2015, criminal proceedings were opened against members of the Tornado special-purpose police battalion. In autumn 2014 most of the territorial defence battalions were reorganized as motorized infantry battalions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Anatoly Plamadyal received a sentence of eight years in prison. On February 23, the Russian defense ministry claimed that Ukrainian armed forces were planning a provocation against the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria "with the involvement of the nationalist Azov battalion." The ministry added that Ukraine plans to stage an attack by Russian forces in Transnistria as a "pretext to invade." Azov Battalion is the most controversial of all the Ukrainian forces - espousing right wing ideology, showcasing Nazi symbols and focussing on white supremacist ideology. The case, consisting of 80 volumes, was considered for almost two years with the participation of 111 witnesses and 13 victims. Nikolai Tsukur received nine years in prison and was stripped of his rank of police lieutenant. In other words, the regional authorities asked Kiev to disarm those who were sent to protect civilians. However, neither the names of the generals who smuggled weapons into the LPR and DPR, nor any evidence were provided by the Tornado members, either during the trial or afterwards. Some members of the national battalion have been accused of paedophilia.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. They immediately received an assault rifle and were trained by more experienced fighters. "I have a creative proposal to our German friends. Including those known for their particular cruelty, penchant for sadism, paedophilia, incest and other monstrous pathologies. 12:04 19.06.2015(updated 12:26 19.06.2015) A drone was used to prevent any massive military actions and to . Sputnik News. The correspondence is stacked with a large number of relevant photographs.Volodymyr Savanchuk, a volunteer, is now also on trial. The battalions were established in mid-2014, during the early stages of the war in Donbas, to combat the pro-Russian separatists[1][2][3] and the forces of the Donetsk People's Republic, Luhansk People's Republic, and the United Armed Forces of Novorossiya. When Russia launched its war on Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians volunteered to fight. The men were also subjected to torture with an object similar to an electric generator. Former military personnel among convicts and detainees who have expressed the desire to defend Ukraine in its effort to fight off the Russian aggression are being released from prisons and detention facilities. [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. He did well. 2,654 Fans Like. During the fight against the "separatists", almost every resident of the settlement went through the illegal detention facilities organised by the Tornado battalion members.On 10 February 2015, fighters from the Tornado battalion and the Chernigov special police battalion led by SBU officers detained a pensioner M, who lived in the so-called LPR-controlled territory, at a checkpoint in Stanitsa Luganskaya settlement, Lugansk region. In other words, the regional authorities asked Kiev to disarm those who were sent to protect civilians. Mujahid came up with the idea of shooting a movie in the basement involving prisoners, he called it just like that the cinema", says one of the battalion fighters, for whom the prosecutor's office has no questions and he was not prosecuted. That is wrong".In response, one of the defendants started shouting: "Why are you so melodramatic? Source: this information was confirmed by Prosecutor Andriy Syniuk from the . 2014 . 47. 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. 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. The detainees in my presence were forced to rape each other at gunpoint. 107 Followers Follow. Published June 22, 2015 at 1:56 pm. The correspondence is stacked with a large number of relevant photographs. "The Blacks were fighters who were not formally recruited because they had criminal records; Freeman actively recruited them into the Tornado. These guys were so bad that even the Nazis from the Azoz Battalion testified against them and the Ukes were forced to jailed them for war crimes. 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. In total, I was kept in the basement for 17-18 days. Members of the Tornado battalion appeared in the Kyiv court. During the fight against the "separatists", almost every resident of the settlement went through the illegal detention facilities organised by the Tornado battalion members. The elderly man was put in the basement, where there were eight other people besides him. If they were caught, all hell broke loose on the ground: the deserters were sometimes tortured for weeks. 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". Four . But there was an unusual element to the event. 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. In addition, he was in the basement in darkness and could not observe the change of day and night.An eyewitness to the detention of the elderly man in the basement was Ms H., the business manager of the Stanitsa Luganskaya settlement council, who was held in the same room for several hours, together with the detainee, and accidentally witnessed his ill-treatment.Later, SBU officers deceived Mr M. by promising to exchange him for the UAF fighters who were being held captive by illegal armed groups, and forced him to testify about his involvement in terrorist activities. This was in 2016. The police, to whom the Tornado battalion reported the defection of a subordinate, often found those who managed to get home. Units. In the summer of 2015, Ukraine witnessed a scandal over the Tornado battalion men whod only recently been hailed as. Remember when Zelensky said he would release prisoners with . They tied him to a support (a sports tool), beat him with their hands and feet and with a plastic rod, poured water on him and tortured him with electric shocks, made him dance naked and sing songs to them, do push-ups off the floor and squat with a 24 kg yellow kettlebell. He came up with a plot, such as Givi and Motorola, the separatist commanders, rape their boss, Alexander Zakharchenko. If they were caught, all hell broke loose on the ground: the deserters were sometimes tortured for weeks. If we refused to work, the Tornado members threatened to kill us. Rallies of support for the Tornadoes were held outside the court building and supporters threatened to take the building by storm. And forced the prisoners to do all this, and if they refused, they were beaten until they agreed. KUPIANSK, Ukraine (AP) A tank carrying Ukrainian infantry speeds toward a target position marked with a metal sheet. I was standing on the side of his head, as they demanded that I put my penis into the mouth of the tied man and the other into his anus. Immediately after the detention, they stripped the man down to his underwear, searched him, and hit him several times without finding anything.The elderly man was put in the basement, where there were eight other people besides him. One photo shows Nazi graffiti left on a wall. Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk has offered Germany to transfer Tornado fighter jets planned for decommissioning to Ukraine. According to the military prosecutor's office, the fighters of this battalion practiced extrajudicial killings, torture and rape against civilians. Members of the so-called "Tornado squadron" are suspected of looting, rape, torture, and murder. 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. There has been scary rumours about their basements". Lilia Ukrainskaya, a well-known volunteer who delivered food to the Tornado battalion, reported the following: From the testimony given by the victims in court: 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. Later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainians with combat experience were released from detention and had all sanctions lifted. He also liked to paint swastikas and pagan symbols on the walls and talk about white supremacy. 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