Valery Sergeyevich Buslov Identified as Russian Military Commander of Balakliia

Illegal Detention and Torture of Civilians

Russian forces occupied Balakliia for six months, and according to local police, over 200 civilians were illegally detained. Four residents told Reuters that some of them had been tortured. Dozens of people detained in Balakliia and the surrounding area are still missing, according to Nelya Kholod, a volunteer who helps find missing persons.

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Identification of Military Commander

Valery Sergeyevich Buslov was identified as the military commander of Balakliia by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and two of his Russian military colleagues. When Reuters contacted Buslov by phone, he identified himself by his name but denied having been in Balakliia or using the codename “Granit.”

Search for Perpetrators of Abuses

Ukrainian and international investigators are currently seeking to identify those responsible for abuses committed in areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia since Moscow’s invasion last year. Kyiv claims that Russia operated 27 illegal detention and torture sites in the Kharkiv region, which includes Balakliia, and that some 1,300 people from the area were missing as of February.

“He signed a number of orders and instructions that allowed personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and illegal military formations to carry out the illegal detention of the civilian population,” the SBU said.

The SBU added that its investigators were conducting a preliminary inquiry into alleged criminal acts committed by Russian soldiers against civilians in Balakliia. The agency declined to provide evidence of alleged wrongdoing by Buslov or other Russian forces, stating that Ukrainian law prohibits making public evidence that is part of an ongoing investigation.