MOSCOW — A report by two leading human rights groups released on Thursday accuses Ukraine’s Western-backed security services of practicing abuse and torture in a manner similar to that of the rebel groups they are fighting. During incarceration by rebel groups, beatings, mock executions and forced menial labor, like digging trenches, are common. Ukraine’s domestic intelligence agency, the Security Service of Ukraine, denies illegally detaining suspects in the conflict. The report said the Ukrainian security services may have created an “exchange fund” or “currency” of detainees detainees, to trade for supporters in rebel areas, driving the abuse. The report detailed similar mistreatment by the Russian-backed security services of the two rebel governments, known as the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.

Source: International New York Times July 21, 2016 20:15 UTC