A Russian law enforcement source told Sputnik, on Tuesday, citing sources in the Ukrainian police, that torture chambers were opened, by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), in order to elicit testimony from persons who had allegedly "collaborated" with Russian personnel while the city was under Russian control between March and November 2022.

According to the source, the torture chambers were established in two district police offices, Dniprovsky and Komsomolsky.

It was also noted that while the Dniprovsky department employed Ukrainians, the second location, however, was exclusively set for the use of foreign mercenaries who speak only English, Polish, and Georgian.

The source said a former business assistant, Vladimir Malina, who made the choice to remain in Kherson after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the region was later killed in one of the torture chambers in the Dniprovsky police department.

"[He] was kept in the torture chamber of the Dniprovsky district department, [he was] brutally beaten, the next day, he died in the cell. In order to hide his death, for three days, two [former] employees of the Russian humanitarian center [in Kherson], Roman Gavrilyuk and Igor Gurov, who were detained with him, were tortured and forced to write an explanation that Vladimir Malina was released together with them," the source said.

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Malina was but one of many who lost their lives at the hands of SBU members in torture chambers, said the source, who explained that the Ukrainians had utilized a network of agents that identifies, arrests, and tortures people that they believed cooperated with Moscow forces.

Moreover, the source told Sputnik, "Activists, SBU agents from among local residents, who remained in the city after the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops in March 2022, are engaged in the denunciation of 'collaborators.' Thanks to the information received from our source in the National Police of Ukraine, we became aware of the names of some of them, as well as those who suffered from their actions."

According to Sputnik's source, Russian law enforcement authorities have now acquired the names of persons who applied for positions in the Russian administration on the SBU's orders with the aim to conduct surveillance missions against Moscow.

It is worth noting that Russia established control over Kherson soon after the launch of the military operation in Ukraine. In October, the republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye were incorporated into Russia following referenda.

In November, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the complete withdrawal of Russian troops and hardware from the right bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson Region, citing the need to build up defenses on the left bank. Soon after that, the Ukrainian forces entered Kherson.

Russia places Ukraine army chiefs on its wanted list

The Russian Interior Ministry on Tuesday announced that it placed Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian armed forces General Valery Zaluzhny on its wanted list.

"Basis for the search: wanted under the article of the Criminal Code," the Ministry's website indicated.

The state-run RIA news agency later reported that the Russian Interior Ministry had also added Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, to the list, citing the same search basis.

It is noteworthy that in late December 2022, the Russian Investigative Committee launched a criminal case against Zaluzhny, as well as other Ukrainian military commanders under the article of using prohibited means and methods of warfare.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry underlined in a statement over Ukrainian drone attacks that targeted Moscow that Russia reserves the right to take "the harshest measures in response to terrorist attacks of the Kiev regime."

"These attacks were planned and carried out by the neo-Nazi Kiev regime, for which the use of methods of terrorist attacks has become a sinister practice. Its representatives have long and openly called for ‘retribution strikes’ on Moscow," the statement stressed.

The Ministry pointed out that the Western backing for Kiev was driving the Ukrainian government to engage in increasingly hazardous behavior, such as terrorism, violations of international humanitarian law, and war crimes.

Read more: Russian forces foil Ukrainian assault in South Donetsk: MoD