UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Oct. 23 — Valerii Buslov, a Russian soldier who tortured civilians during the occupation of Balakliia in the Kharkiv region, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
The investigation established that in April and May 2022, the man performed the duties of military commandant in the city.
Buslov illegally detained locals, tortured them, applied psychological pressure, threatened their lives, and kept them in unsanitary conditions.
The Balakliia regional court found the Russian soldier guilty in absentia of cruel treatment of civilians and sentenced him to 12 years in prison.
In August, another Russian soldier, Sultan Pashotov, was sentenced to 11 years in prison in absentia for torturing civilians with electric shock in Balakliia.
Balakliia is a city in the Izium district, more than 55 miles (90 kilometers) from Kharkiv. The Russian army occupied the city in March 2022, and Ukrainian troops liberated it during the Kharkiv counteroffensive in September 2022.
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