MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/. Kiev uses civilians as human shields, prevents civilians from leaving cities, and tortures prisoners of war, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov said on Thursday.

"During the conflict, Kiev employs terrorist tactics such as using civilians as human shields, blocking civilians' exit from cities along humanitarian corridors organized by the Russian side, using artillery against civilians to intimidate them, torturing prisoners of war, shelling cities with prohibited phosphorus munitions, and mining them with anti-personnel mines," he said.

Gerasimov added that it has become a norm for the Ukrainian leadership to organize attacks on journalists and representatives of administrations in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Zaporozhye, and Kherson regions.

He also noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine suffered significant losses among personnel and equipment. Despite this, Gerasimov stressed, they continued active resistance through the buildup of military assistance from the United States and its allies.