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Harrowing new accounts of Ukrainians being tortured during Russia’s eight-month occupation of Kherson are “just the tip of the iceberg”, an international team investigating the alleged war crimes has warned. The acts described by those detained in dozens of makeshift detention centres – including the use of sexual violence as a common tactic among Russian guards, and genital electrocution – are “evocative of genocide”, the team of lawyers and prosecutors said this week. The UN’s special rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, told The Independent that similarities in the accounts of victims across several different regions of Ukraine “expose a deeper concern that torture and intimidation are a policy and strategy of the Russian state”. Top Ukrainian officials have accused Moscow of genocidal aims ever since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine last February, with The Independent among the first to witness evidence of human rights abuses by Russian troops in the aftermath of the first Russian retreats from territory near Kyiv. Accounts of Russian torture chambers in Kherson first began to emerge soon after Russia’s forces retreated from the key Black Sea port city in November, having captured it one month into their full-scale invasion last February. Earlier this week, a team of prosecutors, experts and analysts – funded by Britain, the EU and US – helping Ukraine’s prosecutor general to sift through that evidence published a summary of its findings among an initial pool of 320 detainees held at more than 35 detention centres. Of those victims, at least 43 per cent explicitly mentioned practices of torture in those centres – with commonly used techniques including suffocation, waterboarding, severe beatings and threats of rape, said the team led by humanitarian law firm Global Rights Compliance. At least 36 detainees mentioned the use of electrocution during interrogations, often genital electrocution. Other victims mentioned threats of genital mutilation, and at least one victim was forced to witness the rape of another detainee by a foreign object covered in a condom, the group said. While those detained included medical workers, teachers, volunteers, activists, community leaders, and law enforcement officials, current and former soldiers appear to be the detainees most likely to have experienced torture in the facilities, according to the investigators. The team of investigators says it has managed to identify individual Russian perpetrators – including one soldier, Oleksandr Naumenko, alleged to have ordered the genital electrocution of 17 different victims. However, the Kremlin has consistently denied allegations of war crimes in Ukraine, and Russia’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report's findings. Responding to the findings, the UN’s special rapporteur said: “The recent collection of interviews are similar in a number of key respects to testimonies I have received as Special Rapporteur on torture, albeit my representations to the Russian authorities are based on information in the regions of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. “The similarities in practice across regional zones expose a deeper concern that torture and intimidation are a policy and strategy of the Russian State. “And as such, it is presently hard to envisage that perpetrators will face justice in Russia. That said, the careful and continuous collection of evidence must go on.” Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s deputy director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “Sadly, these practices are very, very familiar to any one of us who has done research into the Russian security forces and how they deal with civilians.” Pointing to past human rights abuses by Russian troops in the North Caucasus and occupied Crimea, Mr Krivosheev told The Independent: “So it is not at all surprising, but no less shocking, to read about this in territories that Russian forces have occupied in Ukraine.” Mr Krivosheev said many of the details of the Kherson report chimed with his own past experience of Russian torture practices in those arenas, where captives suffered “a lot of” sexualised violence and electrocution, with it being “very common” to target the latter on detainees’ genitalia. Compounding fears of a concerted effort by Moscow to subjugate Ukraine’s population using such methods, Global Rights Compliance co-founder Wayne Jordash KC unveiled evidence in March suggesting the Kherson “torture chambers were planned and directly financed by the Russian state”. Commenting on the new findings, he said: “The torture and sexual violence tactics the [Ukrainian prosecutor’s office] is uncovering from the Kherson detention centres suggests that Putin’s plan to extinguish Ukrainian identity includes a range of crimes evocative of genocide. “At the very least, the pattern that we are observing is consistent with a cynical and calculated plan to humiliate and terrorise millions of Ukrainian citizens in order to subjugate them to the diktat of the Kremlin.” Ukrainian authorities are reviewing more than 97,000 reports of war crimes across Ukraine and have filed charges against 220 suspects in domestic courts. High-level perpetrators could be tried at the International Criminal Court, which has already issued a warrant for Mr Putin’s arrest. “The true scale of Russia’s war crimes remains unknown, but what we can say for certain is that the psychological consequences of these cruel crimes on Ukrainian people will be engrained in their minds for years to come,” said Anna Mykytenko, a senior legal adviser at Global Rights Compliance. “What we are witnessing in Kherson is just the tip of the iceberg in Putin’s barbaric plan to obliterate an entire population. Justice will be served for Ukrainian survivors as we continue our mission to identify and hold perpetrators accountable. Impunity is not an option.” While Mr Krivosheev said he could not say based on the evidence available to Amnesty that alleged torture in Kherson was “a way of dealing with the entire population”, he said he had “certainly” witnessed Russian troops using such practices to instill fear across whole populations previously. Condemning a failure among the international community to properly address Russia’s past crimes in the North Caucasus and Crimea, Mr Krivosheev said Amnesty would strive alongside those seeking to bring “all those responsible to account for war crimes, including torture, in fair trials”. “These crimes have no statute of limitation, and this is the only way to ensure justice and prevent such crimes in the future,” he said. Read More Tales of torture emerge as Kherson celebrates freedom from months of Russian occupation In the dark shadow of Putin’s war: Murder, mass graves and torture mark a Russian retreat Life after the Kakhovka dam explosion | On The Ground Why Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s ports matter for us all

Heuermann was arrested on July 13 as a prime suspect in the murder of four sex workers whose remains were found in December 2010

George Kambosos Jr tensed his jaw, forced his teeth further into the hard rubber of his gumshield, bowed his head and hurled as many hooks as he could muster at Devin Haney. All the while, Haney stood before the Australian, eyes alert and mind composed, jettisoning sharp, straight shots into the blood-smeared face of his wincing opponent. Clearly Kambosos, who had spent 12 rounds trying and failing to close range against Haney in June, felt that a more aggressive approach was needed in their rematch four months on – an approach punctuated by a disregard for his own wellbeing. But, Haney, who was so content to school Kambosos with educated jabs in their first encounter, welcomed his opponent’s decision to open up. This time, Haney would punish Kambosos with piston right hands and torquey left hooks, exposing Kambosos’s reckless entries with a greater intensity and variety of offence than was required in their first clash. And so, although the result and location remained the same, the manner of victory did not. Haney’s record now counts back-to-back unanimous-decision wins over Kambosos, both in Melbourne, but the similarity of those results belies the evolution of performance displayed by the “Dream”. At just 23 years old, the American had relieved Kambosos of his unbeaten record and unified lightweight titles in their first bout, before maintaining his own undefeated and now-undisputed status in the rematch. What will 24 bring for Haney? First of all, a showdown with Vasiliy Lomachenko. The Ukrainian is, unquestionably, one of the finest fighters of this generation. “Loma”’s accolades include two Olympic gold medals, a spell as unified lightweight champion, a world title at featherweight, and another at super-featherweight. His arsenal still boasts refined technique, dizzying punch speed and head movement, and balletic footwork, as well as the adaptability to abort and revisit his southpaw stance whenever necessary. However, the question that will be answered under the Las Vegas lights on Saturday will be whether Lomachenko, at 35, is a fading force. It was a question first raised after the Ukrainian’s surprise defeat by Teofimo Lopez in 2020, when Lomachenko’s comeback was too late and too laboured to overturn the American’s early lead. With that result, the second loss of Lomachenko’s professional career and first in six years, the southpaw surrendered the unified lightweight titles that would be passed on to Kambosos and then to Haney. Lomachenko has since responded positively, stopping Masayoshi Nakatani and outpointing Richard Commey in 2021, before beating Jamaine Ortiz via decision last October. Over the past year, much of Lomachenko’s emotion has, understandably, been invested in his home country’s defence against Russia’s ongoing invasion; a meeting with Haney is of course a ‘fight’ in the most irrelevant of senses, compared to what Lomachenko endured back home, taking up arms alongside his compatriots. In fact, Lomachenko gave up the chance to box Kambosos last year, instead opting to return to Ukraine and allowing Haney to achieve undisputed status. Still, Saturday’s main event marks the toughest in-ring test that Lomachenko has faced since his match-up with Lopez, and there is a distinct feeling that this could be the veteran’s last stand. There is a feeling that Haney could faze out Lomachenko to usher in a new generation. It is a generation carried by an American lightweight movement, one that Haney is fronting. Just last month, his compatriots Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Ryan Garcia squared off (admittedly at a catchweight just above the lightweight limit), and although the bout was billed as one of the ‘boxing purists’ fights of the year’, it noticeably permeated the mainstream consciousness. Even after his first defeat, 24-year-old Garcia still has untapped crossover potential, while the unbeaten duo of Davis (28) and Shakur Stevenson (25) are infiltrating many pound-for-pound lists. Yet Haney has arguably the greatest potential of all, and in taking on Lomachenko this weekend, he has positioned himself in the biggest fight to feature any of the four Americans. Furthermore, that is within a year of competing in front of more than 40,000 fans in his first fight with Kambosos. Lomachenko, for his part, is unintimated – as one would expect. He even sounds unimpressed by Haney and managed to play down the abilities of the “Dream” and Garcia in one chomping soundbite this week. “It’s the same as Ryan Garcia, [who] has a good left hook,” the Ukrainian said. “It doesn’t work with guys who know boxing. So, it’s the same [with Haney]; if you know about his jab, I know about his jab, too.” That jousting jab was so effective in Haney’s first encounter with Kambosos, while the American demonstrated a wider array of skills and greater aggression in the rematch. It remains to be seen how Haney will approach the puzzle that Lomachenko presents, which so many foes have failed to solve. Haney has suggested, though, that he will fight on the front foot. “I want to beat him bad, I want to send him into retirement,” he said this week. “I’m going to go in there and impose my will on Loma. [I’m going to] show the world how great Devin Haney really is – how versatile, how strong, how young, and how experienced I am in that ring.” Lomachenko’s counter? “I believe that when you say something, you need to prove it.” Haney is proving himself with every outing, yet Lomachenko still has something to prove, too. And if Haney really does set out to impose himself on Lomachenko, the veteran will need to keep the counters coming. This could be his last stand. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Devin Haney vows to ‘impose will’ on Vasiliy Lomachenko in title fight Haney vs Lomachenko live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV Katie Taylor and Chantelle Cameron are shaming their male counterparts

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Manchester United have fought for success all year and David De Gea says they are ready for one more “special” battle against Manchester City in the FA Cup final. Erik ten Hag’s first season in charge has been one of progress and, for the most part, positivity, with the side finishing third in the Premier League and sealing a Champions League return. The Dutchman is only the second manager in United’s history to win a major trophy in his first season and has the chance to add to February’s Carabao Cup triumph this weekend. Ten Hag’s Red Devils head to Wembley for the first all-Manchester FA Cup final, when they will attempt to add to their cabinet and stop rivals City’s attempts to win the treble. “We have to recover well and start to prepare for the game,” De Gea said. “Of course, we know it’s a big final, a special game. “We’ve been the whole year fighting to be in that position to win titles and we will try absolutely everything to try to win.” De Gea and his team-mates were all in at Carrington on Monday morning, with Sunday’s starters focused on recovery from the 2-1 comeback win against Fulham at a bouncing Old Trafford. Kenny Tete had put the visitors ahead in the Premier League season finale and Marco Silva’s men would have extended their lead had Golden Glove winner De Gea not stopped Aleksandar Mitrovic’s spot-kick. United kicked on after that, with Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes completing a victory that saw them beat Newcastle to third spot. “We concede the first goal from a corner and then I think five minutes after we concede a penalty,” De Gea, whose contract has yet to be extended beyond the summer, said. “I was very positive. I was feeling like ‘come on, you have to save this penalty, we have to finish properly the season at home, we have to win’. “Then I make the save, everyone was happy, enjoying and I helped the team to win the three points today. “The manager wants us to be focused every game, winning every game. Before the game he was shouting before ‘come on guys, we have to finish properly, winning mentality’. “So, yeah, we showed it again. 1-0 down, suffering a bit, but then we create chances and could have scored even more than two. “But, like I say, a big way to finish the season with a victory and (it) gives a bit of enjoyment to the fans.” The result saw United equal the club’s record of 27 home wins in all competitions in a single campaign, while also meaning they finished 17 points better off than last season. “100 per cent, for sure, the improvement is there,” De Gea told MUTV. “Of course we still have a gap to improve but, yeah, a massive improvement from last season. “Winning a cup, finish third – it’s never easy to finish in the Champions League places in England. “And then we have another final, a big final, so I think at the moment it is a great year.” As for Fulham, the defeat at Old Trafford was frustrating but this was a season to cherish having finished 10th on their return to the top-flight. Goalscoring right-back Tete said: “Unbelievable season, every single player. “If you saw how we fought all season for every single point. Not even one game was easy for us. “I am just proud of the boys. We said it as well to each other and this is something we have to build on. “We know now what our standard is, we know now what we can bring. I can’t wait for next season.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Fans celebrate Luton’s fairytale promotion to Premier League at civic parade Roberto De Zerbi says Brighton must build stronger squad for European challenge ‘We will be back’ says Leicester chairman following relegation

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Ryan Mountcastle hit a tiebreaking double in the seventh inning and scored on an infield hit to lead the AL East champion Baltimore Orioles over the last-place Boston Red Sox 5-2 for their 101st win