Ukrainian soldiers accuse Russians of abuses in captivity

FILE PHOTO: A view shows destroyed facilities of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine May 22, 2022. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Pavel Klimov

KYIV (Reuters) - Three Ukrainian soldiers who say they were wounded and taken prisoner by Russia after one of the war's biggest battles and later released, on Monday accused their captors of torture and psychological pressure.

The men, part of a force that spent weeks fighting from a vast steelworks in the southern port of Mariupol after Russia's Feb. 24 invasion, told a news conference in Kyiv that their captors wanted to force them to confess to crimes against civilians.