Torture of Ukrainians part of Russian state's war policy, UN expert says

• "These grievous acts appear neither random nor incidental, but rather orchestrated as part of a State policy to intimidate, instill fear, punish, or extract information and confessions," added the special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Driving the news: Edwards collected testimonies from civilians, soldiers and prisoners of war during her trip to Ukraine from Sept. 4-10 — some of whom she said reported being beaten, given electric shocks to their ears and genitals or threatened with rape or death.

• Others recounted being poorly fed in crowded basements and cells, resulting in dangerous levels of weight loss.

Of note: While previous UN reports have found both Russia and Ukraine had violated international human rights laws in their treatment of prisoners of war, Edwards said she found "sincere efforts have been made by the Ukrainian authorities to treat Russian prisoners of war respectfully."

Zoom out: A UN report in March found Russian forces had committed an array of violations that amount to war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, and Edwards noted Ukrainian officials had registered over 103,000 war crimes proceedings.

• The International Criminal Court, a court the Kremlin does not recognize, issued an arrest warrant in the same month for Russian President Vladimir Putin over his alleged involvement in the abduction of Ukrainian children and teenagers.
• Despite the mounting evidence, Kremlin officials have repeatedly rejected accusations that Russian forces target or torture civilians in Ukraine.

Between the lines: War crimes have been historically hard to investigate and often even more challenging to prosecute, Axios' Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath notes.

Go deeper: 2 foreign aid workers killed in Russian missile strike in eastern Ukraine