Methodology
The report's primary sources of information consist of materials collected by Truth Hounds during their field visits to Balakliia following its liberation by the Ukrainian army on 8 September 2022.
A Truth Hounds team conducted investigations at multiple locations across Kharkiv Oblast. They visited all known detention sites used by Russian forces during the occupation, interviewing survivors, witnesses, and families of victims who had been detained or suffered otherwise during the occupation. Interviews were conducted by following best practices for civil society organisation documentation, including the do-no-harm principle and using informed consent for gathering statements. The materials include victim testimonies, witness interviews, photographs, multimedia evidence, GPS coordinates, maps, and descriptions of crime scenes and weaponry.
The documentation was entered into the Ukraine I-DOC Database, which allows materials to be stored, systematised and analysed legally. Truth Hounds analysed the information (265 documents) using the I-DOC Database technology developed by the Centre for International Law Research and Policy Department Case Matrix Network (CILRAP-CMN).
The analysis followed a structured process to map available information and analyse and assess potential crimes. Each material was carefully examined to determine data such as location, nature of the crime, timeframe, affected victims and witnesses, and possible responsible individuals or organisational units.
Once these elements were identified, the material was subjected to legal analysis to evaluate the nature and severity of the crimes.
Testimonies were reviewed alongside other available evidence to establish a timeline of events. Information was then grouped into clusters based on patterns such as location, type of crime, and individuals or units involved. The clusters were built by systematically linking related pieces of information into a structured narrative. Following this, suspects and organisational units were mapped to visualise the connections between individuals, command structures, and detention sites.
At each stage, findings were cross-referenced to ensure consistency and accuracy, allowing for the construction of a comprehensive and coherent account of the events. This method facilitated a thorough examination of the material and supported the legal assessment of the violations.
In addition to Truth Hound’s findings, the NHC conducted open-source research to complete the picture. This research drew on publicly available data from Ukrainian, international, and Russian sources.
According to the statistics generated in the I-DOC Database, at least 321 individuals were subjected to arbitrary detention, while 286 people were tortured or ill-treated, with the majority (276) being civilians. There are reports of 10 victims of alleged sexual violence, along with information on eight victims – both identified and unidentified – who were killed during the occupation of the town. These figures reflect only the cases reported by Truth Hounds and analysed in the I-DOC Database. The number of human rights violations and war crimes is likely significantly higher.