A network at least 20 torture chambers in its recently liberated southern Ukrainian region Peninsula had been “designed and was financed directly from Russian state,” war crimes investigators announced today, citing new evidence.

The Mobile Justice Team, which is funded by Britain, the EU and the United States, has been working with Ukrainian war crimes prosecutors across Ukraine and in Kherson since the region was retaken from Russian forces in November after eight and now months of possession.

The Kremlin’s press office did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.

Reuters reported on the scale of the torture chambers in Kherson in January, when Ukrainian authorities announced that around 200 people had allegedly been tortured in 10 locations. Survivors told Reuters they were tortured in a variety of ways including electric shocks and suffocation techniques.

Moscow, which has said it is waging a “special military operation” in Ukraine, has denied committing war crimes or targeting civilians.

The Mobile Justice Team, established in May 2022 by humanitarian law firm Global Rights Compliance and supported by international experts, is supporting the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine as it reviews more than 71,000 reports of war crimes nationwide since the invasion February 24, 2022.

“New evidence collected from recently liberated Kherson reveals that the torture chambers were designed and funded directly by the Russian state,” the group, founded by British lawyer Wayne Jordans, said in a statement.

Witnesses described the use of electric shock and water torture by Russian forces. At least 1,000 torture chamber survivors have given evidence to investigators and more than 400 people have been reported missing from Kherson, the group said in a statement.

The funding of a network of torture facilities was part of a Russian state plan to “subjugate, re-educate or kill Ukrainian political leaders and ordinary dissidents,” the group said in its statement.

The torture centers were operated by various Russian security services, including the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the local FSB of Kherson and the Russian prison service, the statement said.

Reuters was unable to verify the claims.

An investigation by the International Criminal Court is also underway, as part of domestic and international efforts to hold accountable those responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide across Ukraine.