While borscht is cooking on the stove, Alexander Guz shows pictures of his bruises all over his body on his phone.. According to him, these are traces of torture that the Russian military used against him.. “They put a bag on my head,” says Alexander. - They beat and say "

BBC collects testimonies from several Kherson residents who claim they were tortured.

Alexander lived in Belozerka, a small village in the Kherson region, was one of the deputies of the village council. He served in the army in his youth, and now runs his own business.

Alexander and his wife did not hide their hostility towards the Russian army: she went to pro-Ukrainian rallies, he tried to prevent Russian troops from entering their village.

After the Russians occupied the village, he was detained by Russian soldiers. " During the interrogation, he was forced to stand with his legs wide apart.. " When I fell I started to choke. When you try to get up they hit you. Then they ask again.

Russian troops took control of Kherson at the beginning of the war. Ukrainian TV channels quickly replaced Russian state-owned ones. Instead of Western products, Russian analogues appeared.

According to numerous first-hand accounts, people began to disappear in the city and the region..

It is not easy to draw an accurate picture of what is happening in Kherson. As Russia tightens control over the region, people are becoming more afraid to talk about their misadventures.

Those who managed to leave often delete all photos and videos from their phones, fearing they could be stopped at Russian checkpoints.. Before erasing them from his phone, Alexander sent images of his injuries to his son abroad..

Therefore, in order to confirm information about torture, you need to talk with several people who claim to have been victims of torture..

One of them is Oleg Baturin, a former journalist for an independent newspaper in the Kherson region.. He claims he was kidnapped days after the Russian invasion. \! " - Bandaged my face. and put your hands behind your back. They hit me on my back, ribs and legs. kicked and beaten with the butt of a machine gun"

Only later, after a visit to the doctor, Oleg realized that four of his ribs had been broken.. He says he was imprisoned for eight days. All this time, he heard how other prisoners were being tortured, and witnessed the mock execution of a young man..

Both Oleksandr and Oleg are now in Ukrainian-controlled territory. The photographs they provided were taken from police records, they said..

Some evidence of torture is especially creepy. BBC correspondent Caroline Davies spoke to a doctor at a Kherson hospital who asked not to be named but provided me with a photo of his hospital pass. "

He claims to have seen burns on people's legs and arms, and one patient told him he was beaten with a hose filled with sand.. " The patient himself told how they connected two bare wires to the battery in his groin, and his feet stood on a wet rag, "

He believes that among the victims there were also many seriously wounded who were not provided with medical assistance.. According to him, some locals stay at home because they are afraid to go out.. And on some, according to him, the Russians put "

The doctor says he asked the patients why they were detained by the Russian military: “They were tortured if they didn’t want to go over to the Russian side, because they were at rallies, because they were in territorial defense, because someone.

Some in Kherson fear that the turn will soon reach their loved ones.

Victoria (name changed) fears for her parents, who are still in Kherson. Her father used to be in the territorial defense and was kidnapped and beaten once, she says.. " When he came home, after a few minutes he burst into tears, although he is not a sentimental person.. I tried to help, but I felt like a little girl,"

Now Victoria fears it could happen again..

BBC is not the only organization investigating what is happening in Kherson. Both the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and the human rights organization Human Rights Watch said they were also concerned about reports of torture and disappearances of people..

Belkis Wille of Human Rights Watch says the BBC's evidence is consistent with their own investigations..

She is concerned that Russian forces in the occupied areas continue to some extent " "

Earlier, a Kremlin spokesman said that the accusations of war crimes in Bucha are "

What exactly is happening in Kherson is almost impossible to establish from the outside, but as new evidence is collected, a picture of fear, intimidation, violence and repression emerges..

Victoria tries to evacuate her parents. " "