Ruslan Onishchenko, a former commander of the Tornado volunteer battalion, is one such example. Hed served time in prison twice and was a member of an organised crime group. The SNA and the Patriot of Ukraine, together with Svoboda and . Yuri Shevchenko received a sentence of five years in prison. KUPIANSK, Ukraine (AP) A tank carrying Ukrainian infantry speeds toward a target position marked with a metal sheet. were mentioned, indicating that the TDF has likely expanded far past the initially planned size. 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. On September 13, Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelensky made a surprise trip to the city of Izyum in the Kharkov Region for a photo op following his military's recapture of the town from Russian forces. It was formed from Anti-Terrorist Operation veterans, a "Shakhtyorsk" police special unit, that was disbanded due to looting and war crimes. 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). The soldiers climb down, hurl grenades and unleash a crackle of machine-gun . The Tornado battalion crimes case is a. VT RADIO: Alternative Foreign Policy Talk. And forced the prisoners to do all this, and if they refused, they were beaten until they agreed. The case, consisting of 80 volumes, was considered for almost two years with the participation of 111 witnesses and 13 victims. The action was part of a live-fire training exercise for new recruits on a recent morning outside the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. This includes 9,371 people killed and 21,532 injured 4. 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", , , , , . Despite the enormous amount of circumstantial evidence, it is very difficult to prove murder unless a body is found. Most of the citizens who experienced the so-called "mop-up" refused to describe their stories in writing, fearing for their safety. Radical politicians, members of neo-Nazi movements and ATO veterans, who were convinced that the charges were fabricated, demanded an open trial. 2014 . 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. 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. [25][26], On 10 November 2014 Stepan Poltorak, the Minister of Defence of Ukraine, ordered territorial defence battalions to reorganize as motorized infantry battalions.[27][28]. They hit them repeatedly with their hands, feet, plastic pipes and other objects, mainly on their legs, buttocks and intimate areas. The defendants regularly attempted to disrupt the trial, for example, by throwing faeces and spraying urine on those present. If they commit any crimes they will be persecuted and even dismantled as was the case with "Tornado" battalion. 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. Freeman found all this amusing. Alyona Mazurenko SUNDAY, 27 FEBRUARY 2022, 12:39 PM. Whichever one you like, the code does not define it as an assault. This was reported on the evening of April 7th by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. Since the 2014 intervention in Ukraine by Russian forces and proxy forces (i.e. For example, a report by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, a Ukrainian human rights organisation, and the Truth Hounds, another human rights organisation, describes an incident involving the abduction by Shakhtyorsk fighters of several residents of Marinka, who were first used as human shields to provide cover from sniper fire. 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. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. In total, I was kept in the basement for 17-18 days. Hed served time in prison twice and was a member of an organised crime group.The law enforcers did not dare to storm the building. In other words, the regional authorities asked Kiev to disarm those who were sent to protect civilians. 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 Blacks were fighters who were not formally recruited because they had criminal records; Freeman actively recruited them into the Tornado. The court hearings were held behind closed doors, without public access. Ollie. 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.Zelensky Frees Tornado and Sends Back to the FrontIn 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.Later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainians with combat experience were released from detention and had all sanctions lifted.The criminals released under the emergency amnesty are now not just at large; they were given weapons. The next day, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov signed an order to disband the Tornado battalion.The Tornado members themselves did not accept this decision. 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. 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). 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. 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. If you are willing to endure torture - you have the right to torture. #Ukraine: Today Ruslan Onishchenko, the commander of the Neo-Nazi Tornado battalion, was released from prison by the Zelensky regime, alongside thousands of other criminals.Onishchenko was previously condemned to 10 years imprisonment for rape, torture and murder of civilians. The public learned about the crimes of the Shakhtyorsk battalion almost straight away. However, they never rushed there, preferring to engage in torture, provocation, mockery and robbery behind the lines. Since 30 April 2014, all territorial defence battalions have been part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and fall under the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the governors of the oblasts (provinces) in which they were created. On April 7, a Kyiv court sentenced seven former members of the Tornado police battalion to 8 to 10 years in prison, and its leader to 11 years in prison, for torture and rape of civilians. The Ukrainian President published a photograph on his social media channels showing one of his security escorts bearing a patch referencing the personal bodyguard unit of Adolf Hitler. The correspondence is stacked with a large number of relevant photographs.Volodymyr Savanchuk, a volunteer, is now also on trial. You can participate in the discussion within 24 hours after the publication of the article. 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". There would be no life without torture. After the beating, they dragged the man to the pit as he fainted several times. There has been scary rumours about their basements". 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." The then Chief Military Prosecutor of Ukraine Anatoliy Matios commented situation: Matios reported that every fourth Tornado fighter had a criminal record. President Zelensky's decision to include an address from an Azov Battalion . That is wrong".In response, one of the defendants started shouting: "Why are you so melodramatic? Nikolai Tsukur received nine years in prison and was stripped of his rank of police lieutenant. They were first sent to Stanitsa Luganskaya, and when I first arrived, dear mother, I heard quite enough: they had kidnapped two people who had a large sum of money. They put me in the basement An hour or two passed Onishchenko arrived and was glad they had brought me. They justified their rail terrorism by citing "the struggle against smuggling, corruption and illegal arms trade". They had nothing to lose and nowhere to return. [3] It is unclear whether those airborne troops attempted an airdrop or air assault or drove down, possibly with the long convoy previously reported. "He forced me to share a room with him. Tens of thousands of people in Europe marched to protest against the Wests military aid to Ukraine. Volunteers provide things like: hygiene items, food, sleeping bags, night vision goggles and multicopters (for use as drones).[5]. This odious battalion became famous for kidnapping and holding civilians in their own prison, torturing them and . After the beating, they dragged the man to the pit as he fainted several times. Four . 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. 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. (Russian MoD) Evidence is emerging from the conflict in Ukraine appearing to show that Russian forces are utilizing guided rockets - the 9M544 and . The philosophy is all like this. Despite the enormous amount of circumstantial evidence, it is very difficult to prove murder unless a body is found. They say they want to defend their freedom. Among the released former fighters of the punitive battalion is Danil Lyashuk, known by his moniker "Mujahid". 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