Ukrainian police to investigate alleged torture in Kherson

A United Nations office that is monitoring human rights in Ukraine said Tuesday that they are sending a team to Kherson city to verify alleged human rights abuses. The UN said there are nearly 80 cases of supposed forced disappearances and arbitrary detention to be investigated. Russia left the city last week and Ukraine has been assessing the damage ever since. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia has either destroyed or mined the critical infrastructure in the city and the surrounding area. The head of the National Police of Ukraine, Igor Klymenko, said the police will also start investigating reports about three torture sites in the city.

What is happening to Ukrainians? Russia seems to be using winter as a weapon. Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Russia fired at least 85 missiles into Ukraine in the latest barrage. At least a dozen regions reported strikes and many reported blackouts. Russia has been targeting things like power grids, keeping Ukrainians cold and in the dark. Many are also without water.

Dig deeper: Listen to Onize Ohikere’s report on The World and Everything in It about the blackouts in Ukraine.