Putin using ‘torture and psychological warfare’ to ‘erase’ Ukrainian identity, says expert

 

Russia’s War on Ukraine Isn’t Just About Land—It’s About Erasing Identity, Report Warns

According to a powerful new report by the genocide documentation organization Yahad-In Unum, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine goes beyond conventional warfare—it is an assault on Ukrainian identity itself.

Father Patrick Desbois, a Holocaust scholar and founder of the organization, has warned that President Vladimir Putin’s campaign uses systemic torture, propaganda, and child abductions not only to control territory but to erase the Ukrainian national identity. Drawing from over 500 hours of interviews across 60 Ukrainian locations, Yahad-In Unum’s investigation reveals a deliberate strategy of psychological and physical warfare against civilians.

 

Desbois explained that this war is rooted in the false claim that “Ukrainians are Russian”—a narrative weaponized through torture, forced confessions, and attempts to reprogram Ukrainian prisoners into pledging loyalty to Russia. The kidnapping of Ukrainian children is also identified as a “key Russian objective” meant to reinforce this falsehood.

The report documents horrific accounts: indiscriminate bombings in civilian areas, torture used to extract lies, and methods aimed at mentally breaking victims. One survivor from Kharkiv recounted how their sister was killed in front of them by a sudden missile strike. Another victim from Kyiv described being beaten and burned after refusing to claim they were a Nazi.

The Russian government has consistently denied civilian deaths and war crimes—an approach Desbois likens to Soviet-era propaganda. “They lie, they know they lie, they know that we know they lie, but they go on lying,” he said.

This campaign, Desbois argues, is a form of cultural genocide, especially in light of the destruction of Ukrainian historical and cultural sites. Unlike the Holocaust, which aimed to eliminate an entire people, this strategy aims to erase a nation’s identity by forcibly reshaping how its people think and live.

A major concern, he notes, is the risk of international fatigue. As global attention shifts to military strategy, the human cost risks being overshadowed. Desbois warns that “dictatorships don’t get tired”—but democracies often do. This fatigue, he says, plays into the hands of leaders like Putin who count on the West eventually losing the will to resist.

Yahad-In Unum continues to document these atrocities with the hope that, when the time comes for justice, the stories of Ukraine’s civilians won’t be forgotten.