Ukraine's SBU charges Russian general with organizing torture of civilians in Yahidne, Chernihiv Oblast
Ukraine’s Security Service has charged Russian General Denis Barilo in absentia with organizing the torture of civilians in the village of Yahidne, Chernihiv Oblast, in March 2022, the SBU reported.
At the time, Barilo commanded the 55th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 41st Combined Arms Army of Russia’s Central Military District. His unit participated in the occupation of Yahidne.
Under Barilo’s command, Russian troops forced 369 civilians — including 69 minors, among them infants — into the basement of the local school, threatening them with execution.
The victims were held in unsanitary conditions in an underground room where each person had less than half a square meter of space. There was no ventilation, lighting, running water, sewerage or sleeping places. People were forbidden from going outside for fresh air, were denied medical assistance and received insufficient water and food.
As a result, 10 civilians died. Their bodies remained in the basement among the living for a long time.
Investigators charged Barilo under Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — violation of the laws and customs of war. Measures are ongoing to locate and bring him to justice.