Ukraine live briefing: War survivor tells U.S. Congress about being forced to ‘dig my own grave’

[ad_1]

Survivors of Russia’s invasion shared their stories with the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs and gave firsthand accounts of abuse they had suffered, in one woman’s words, “just for being Ukrainian.”

At the hearing Wednesday, a 57-year-old woman who gave her name only as Lyubov told lawmakers she had spent five days in what she called a Russian “torture chamber.” She was brought there after the military came to her home in Kherson and confiscated several items, including a flag and a map of her country. “I was beaten. They forced me to undress, cutting my body with a knife and threatening to rape and kill me,” she said through an interpreter. Russian soldiers “forced me to dig my own grave,” she said.

“You can’t be human and not feel the evil that has been done,” Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY) said after her testimony.

Also Wednesday, the Biden administration announced a $325 million security assistance package for Ukraine. Washington has sent Kyiv more than $35 billion in military assistance since Russia invaded Ukraine last year.

Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.

The remarks have resonated, particularly in the Global South, where some countries see the United States engaged in what they consider serial interventions around the world, and have declined to take sides. While Biden officials adamantly reject the label, whether Ukraine has become a “proxy” war between great powers has become an intellectual and political battlefield itself, Karen DeYoung writes.

[ad_2]

Source link

Leave a Comment