Russia says Kiev's forces killed 22 people in occupied village
MOSCOW
Moscow on Jan. 31 accused Ukrainian troops of killing 22 people in an occupied Russian village, including eight women who were allegedly raped before being executed.
Ukraine controls dozens of border settlements in the Kursk region of western Russia since launching a surprise offensive in August and says about 2,000 civilians still live in areas it occupies.
Russia has now retaken several towns.
Russia's Investigative Committee had said on Jan. 19 it was investigating the killing of "at least seven civilians" in the village of Russkoye Porechnoye, about 20 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
On Jan. 31, it said it was now investigating the killing of "22 residents" between September and November.
Among the victims, whose bodies were found in the basements of several homes, were eight women who were allegedly raped before being killed, the committee said.
Russian investigators blame five Ukrainian soldiers for the killings and said one of them, Yevgeny Fabrisenko, was arrested during the fighting in the Kursk region.
The committee released a video of the interrogation of a man identified as Fabrisenko, who confessed.
At a briefing on Jan. 31, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: "First people were tortured, abused, then killed either by being shot or blown up."
Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of killing civilians since the conflict began nearly three years ago.
