{"id":1813,"date":"2025-04-03T11:11:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T08:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/?p=1813"},"modified":"2025-09-05T18:37:45","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T15:37:45","slug":"catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/uk\/2025\/04\/03\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Catholic Investigator Says Russia\u2019s Torture Aims to Erase Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"67\" data-end=\"914\">French Catholic priest Patrick Desbois\u2014known for two decades of painstaking work locating and documenting \u201cHolocaust by bullets\u201d mass graves\u2014has redirected his methods to occupied parts of Ukraine, where he argues a new, identity-targeted crime pattern is unfolding. Working through his organization Yahad\u2013In Unum, which has previously recorded thousands of execution sites and thousands of eyewitness accounts of Nazi crimes, Desbois says his team has now compiled hundreds of contemporary testimonies from areas such as Kherson and Kharkiv. Their April report contends that torture carried out by Russian forces, frequently under the operational hand of the FSB, is not incidental battlefield brutality but a system designed to coerce Ukrainians into renouncing their identity and accepting Kremlin control. <span class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"><span class=\"ms-1 inline-flex max-w-full items-center relative top-[-0.094rem] animate-[show_150ms_ease-in]\" data-testid=\"webpage-citation-pill\"><a class=\"flex h-4.5 overflow-hidden rounded-xl px-2 text-[9px] font-medium text-token-text-secondary! bg-[#F4F4F4]! dark:bg-[#303030]! transition-colors duration-150 ease-in-out\" href=\"https:\/\/united24media.com\/latest-news\/catholic-priest-who-tracked-holocaust-graves-now-says-russia-is-committing-genocide-babel-interview-7319\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"relative start-0 bottom-0 flex h-full w-full items-center\"><span class=\"flex h-4 w-full items-center justify-between overflow-hidden\"><span class=\"max-w-full grow truncate overflow-hidden text-center\">UNITED24 Media<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"916\" data-end=\"1633\">Desbois and legal scholar Andrej Umansky describe a coordinated apparatus: mass arrests of local elites (teachers, journalists, community organizers), pressure campaigns to force public declarations of loyalty, and the deportation and re-registration of children inside Russia to sever cultural ties. Witnesses recount psychological and physical torment calibrated to break resistance; in one case, interrogators leveraged threats against a detainee\u2019s mother after beatings failed, extracting a coerced statement later used for blackmail. These practices, the investigators argue, are aimed not only at silencing individuals but at emptying villages of their Ukrainian character. <span class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"><span class=\"ms-1 inline-flex max-w-full items-center relative top-[-0.094rem] animate-[show_150ms_ease-in]\" data-testid=\"webpage-citation-pill\"><a class=\"flex h-4.5 overflow-hidden rounded-xl px-2 text-[9px] font-medium text-token-text-secondary! bg-[#F4F4F4]! dark:bg-[#303030]! transition-colors duration-150 ease-in-out\" href=\"https:\/\/united24media.com\/latest-news\/catholic-priest-who-tracked-holocaust-graves-now-says-russia-is-committing-genocide-babel-interview-7319\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"relative start-0 bottom-0 flex h-full w-full items-center\"><span class=\"flex h-4 w-full items-center justify-between overflow-hidden\"><span class=\"max-w-full grow truncate overflow-hidden text-center\">UNITED24 Media<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1635\" data-end=\"2412\">On the legal terrain, the team anchors its conclusions in the 1948 Genocide Convention\u2014especially Article II(b), which covers causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of a national group. In their assessment, a pattern of systematic torture, intimidation, and forced assimilation meets that threshold when viewed alongside policies targeting children and community leadership. They have submitted their documentation to the European Court of Human Rights and Germany\u2019s Federal Public Prosecutor; some alleged perpetrators have already been identified with journalistic assistance and survivor recognition. Accountability will be slow, they concede, but the absence of a statute of limitations makes eventual prosecutions plausible.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1635\" data-end=\"2412\">Desbois also frames the stakes within today\u2019s geopolitics: as international debates revisit ceasefires or \u201cpeace deals,\u201d he warns that occupation is being used as a tool of erasure, not merely territorial control. Any negotiation that ignores the deliberate crushing of Ukrainian identity risks entrenching a system of abuse. The message is stark\u2014behind the front lines, an organized campaign seeks to unmake a nation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>French priest Patrick Desbois, famed for documenting Holocaust mass graves, now records Russian-run torture in occupied Ukraine. His team concludes the FSB\u2019s system aims to erase Ukrainian identity\u2014meeting Genocide Convention criteria\u2014and has filed evidence with EU courts<\/p>","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[277],"tags":[679,696,677,678],"class_list":["post-1813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-russia","tag-germany","tag-kharkiv","tag-russia","tag-ukraine","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Catholic Investigator Says Russia\u2019s Torture Aims to Erase Ukraine - Kyiv Center for Defense Policy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/uk\/2025\/04\/03\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"uk_UA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Catholic Investigator Says Russia\u2019s Torture Aims to Erase Ukraine - Kyiv Center for Defense Policy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"French priest Patrick Desbois, famed for documenting Holocaust mass graves, now records Russian-run torture in occupied Ukraine. His team concludes the FSB\u2019s system aims to erase Ukrainian identity\u2014meeting Genocide Convention criteria\u2014and has filed evidence with EU courts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/uk\/2025\/04\/03\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Kyiv Center for Defense Policy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-03T08:11:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-05T15:37:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kyiv Defense Policy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"\u041d\u0430\u043f\u0438\u0441\u0430\u043d\u043e\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kyiv Defense Policy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"\u041f\u0440\u0438\u0431\u043b. \u0447\u0430\u0441 \u0447\u0438\u0442\u0430\u043d\u043d\u044f\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 \u0445\u0432\u0438\u043b\u0438\u043d\u0438\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/03\\\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/03\\\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kyiv Defense Policy\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c3f7d4c122bad1dbebb75dfee2e155d0\"},\"headline\":\"Catholic Investigator Says Russia\u2019s Torture Aims to Erase Ukraine\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-03T08:11:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-05T15:37:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/03\\\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":394,\"commentCount\":0,\"keywords\":[\"Germany\",\"Kharkiv\",\"Russia\",\"Ukraine\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Russia\"],\"inLanguage\":\"uk\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/03\\\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/03\\\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/03\\\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\\\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic Investigator Says Russia\u2019s Torture Aims to Erase Ukraine - Kyiv Center for Defense Policy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-03T08:11:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-05T15:37:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c3f7d4c122bad1dbebb75dfee2e155d0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/03\\\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"uk\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/03\\\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/03\\\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Catholic Investigator Says Russia\u2019s Torture Aims to Erase Ukraine\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Kyiv Center for Defense Policy\",\"description\":\"The Latest News from Kyiv, Ukraine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"uk\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c3f7d4c122bad1dbebb75dfee2e155d0\",\"name\":\"Kyiv Defense Policy\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"uk\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3d5e3534f243044152ed884932b5778c66a6f916464933e6c55054e583cdf617?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3d5e3534f243044152ed884932b5778c66a6f916464933e6c55054e583cdf617?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3d5e3534f243044152ed884932b5778c66a6f916464933e6c55054e583cdf617?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kyiv Defense Policy\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\\\/uk\\\/author\\\/kyiv-defense-policy\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Catholic Investigator Says Russia\u2019s Torture Aims to Erase Ukraine - Kyiv Center for Defense Policy","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/uk\/2025\/04\/03\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\/","og_locale":"uk_UA","og_type":"article","og_title":"Catholic Investigator Says Russia\u2019s Torture Aims to Erase Ukraine - Kyiv Center for Defense Policy","og_description":"French priest Patrick Desbois, famed for documenting Holocaust mass graves, now records Russian-run torture in occupied Ukraine. His team concludes the FSB\u2019s system aims to erase Ukrainian identity\u2014meeting Genocide Convention criteria\u2014and has filed evidence with EU courts","og_url":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/uk\/2025\/04\/03\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\/","og_site_name":"Kyiv Center for Defense Policy","article_published_time":"2025-04-03T08:11:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-05T15:37:45+00:00","author":"Kyiv Defense Policy","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"\u041d\u0430\u043f\u0438\u0441\u0430\u043d\u043e":"Kyiv Defense Policy","\u041f\u0440\u0438\u0431\u043b. \u0447\u0430\u0441 \u0447\u0438\u0442\u0430\u043d\u043d\u044f":"2 \u0445\u0432\u0438\u043b\u0438\u043d\u0438"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/2025\/04\/03\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/2025\/04\/03\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\/"},"author":{"name":"Kyiv Defense Policy","@id":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/#\/schema\/person\/c3f7d4c122bad1dbebb75dfee2e155d0"},"headline":"Catholic Investigator Says Russia\u2019s Torture Aims to Erase Ukraine","datePublished":"2025-04-03T08:11:29+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-05T15:37:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/2025\/04\/03\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\/"},"wordCount":394,"commentCount":0,"keywords":["Germany","Kharkiv","Russia","Ukraine"],"articleSection":["Russia"],"inLanguage":"uk","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/2025\/04\/03\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/2025\/04\/03\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\/","url":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/2025\/04\/03\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\/","name":"Catholic Investigator Says Russia\u2019s Torture Aims to Erase Ukraine - Kyiv Center for Defense Policy","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-04-03T08:11:29+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-05T15:37:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/#\/schema\/person\/c3f7d4c122bad1dbebb75dfee2e155d0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/2025\/04\/03\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"uk","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/2025\/04\/03\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/2025\/04\/03\/catholic-investigator-says-russias-torture-aims-to-erase-ukraine\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Catholic Investigator Says Russia\u2019s Torture Aims to Erase Ukraine"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/","name":"Kyiv Center for Defense Policy","description":"The Latest News from Kyiv, Ukraine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"uk"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/#\/schema\/person\/c3f7d4c122bad1dbebb75dfee2e155d0","name":"Kyiv Defense Policy","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"uk","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3d5e3534f243044152ed884932b5778c66a6f916464933e6c55054e583cdf617?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3d5e3534f243044152ed884932b5778c66a6f916464933e6c55054e583cdf617?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3d5e3534f243044152ed884932b5778c66a6f916464933e6c55054e583cdf617?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kyiv Defense Policy"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/"],"url":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/uk\/author\/kyiv-defense-policy\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1813"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1814,"href":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1813\/revisions\/1814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kyivdefensepolicy.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}