Torture of Ukrainians in temporarily occupied territory and Russian places of detention

In the territories it now occupied, Russia’s aims were to destroy all politically aware Ukrainians, intimidate the rest of the population, and force them to move to Russia or to parts of Ukraine where the inhabitants were ‘loyal’ to the Russian regime. Russian counterintelligence divided[1] Ukraine’s citizens into four groups those who

1. merited physical destruction or elimination,
2. were to be oppressed and intimidated,
3. could be persuaded to collaborate, and
4. those already willing to collaborate.

Particular targets of the occupying forces were public figures, local deputies, staff of local authorities, rescue workers, border police, law-enforcement officers, priests, journalists, businessmen & women, and, especially, former soldiers who fought in 2014-2021 against the occupying Russian forces. The invaders, it almost seemed, had ready-made lists of such people. They were kidnapped and disappeared. Or they were unlawfully arrested and detained in unofficial and frequently quite unsuitable premises. The conditions were themselves a form of torture.

The detainees were cruelly tortured to obtain useful information or induce them to collaborate. After the Kharkiv Region was liberated in autumn 2022 no less than 33 such torture centres places were discovered — in Izium, Kupiansk, Balakliya, Vovchansk and other locations. Descriptions of some of these places, and testimony from the victims may be found on the KHPG website.

Even in those rare cases when prepared rooms were used to hold people, they accommodated such a large number of prisoners that it was very difficult to be in the cells. For example, in Kupyansk, the torture cells were located in the premises of the temporary detention centre for 140 places, but more than 500 prisoners were kept there. There were nine men in the cell for two places.

The recorded testimony of victims makes it possible to identify at least the following aspects of the conditions in which people were detained as amounting to inhuman treatment:

• Overcrowded cells and premises;
• Unventilated premises;
• Lack of daylight;
• Lack or insufficient volume of food and drinking water;
• Inappropriate conditions for visiting the toilet or lack of any such;
• Keeping detainees handcuffed and blindfolded;
• Lack of necessary medical care;
• Unbearable cold in the premises.

If the purpose of the torture was achieved, the prisoners could be released from the torture chamber. But if they refused to kneel, or sing the Russian anthem, or shout “Glory to Russia!”, or continued to speak in Ukrainian, did the executioners simply believe that the prisoner had not broken down and continued to “pose a threat to the national security and defence of the Russian Federation” (the standard formula for refusal to cross the border of the Russian Federation), they were transferred to one of the places of detention in the temporarily occupied territory or of the Russian Federation, and further they were detained “for opposing the SVO”, i.e. illegally. Because this qualification is absent in Russian criminal and administrative legislation.

As of October 1, 2025, the T4P initiative documented 1030 incidents of torture of civilians, including 24 incidents involving children. 579 of them — in Kharkiv region, 144 — in Kyiv region, 82 — in Donetsk region, 73 — in Chernihiv region, 57 — in Kherson region, 32 — in Mykolaiv region, 27 — in Zaporizhia region, 18 — in Sumy region, 13 — in Luhansk region, 5 — in other regions.

This enormous figure, 1030 tortured incidents, represents only the tip of the iceberg. According to our observations, literally everyone who was in Russian captivity was subjected to torture, regardless of age, gender and state of health.

KHPG lawyers are currently dealing with over 753 cases of torture; they know all too well the methods the invaders use to try and break the will of their captives. KHPG lawyers are looking for witnesses, carrying out investigation actions jointly with the personnel of the law-enforcing bodies in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, Kherson and Sumy regions.

KHPG provides legal, medical, psychological, and charitable assistance to torture victims, as well as supports providing forensic examinations. KHPG psychologists prepare amicus curiae reports for investigative bodies and courts on the psychological state of torture victims based on the Istanbul Protocol.

KHPG investigated the situation with prisoners of war who released after exchanges. The primary method of obtaining information in providing this research was direct interviews. All of the interviewed former prisoners, without exception, spoke about the constant torture they were subjected to.

We summarised and analysed the information obtained from such interviews. As a result, we identified specific facts and patterns in the treatment of prisoners, which give grounds to assert that Russia’s approaches to the treatment of those held captive are planned, considered, and controlled elements of a more extensive policy.

All the interviewed Ukrainians were held in the colony No 10 in Mordovia, and it was this colony that, according to them, turned out to be the most terrible place of detention. There is 434 POW in this colony in March 2025. Earlier there were over 500 POW.

The forms of torture were similar for many geographically remote places of detention, further confirming that the use of torture was systematic and deliberate. Testimony by victims, both civilians and prisoners of war, indicates there were several widespread forms of torture:

1. Beatings of the victims’ face, head and body using arms (sometimes wearing special gloves), legs and other objects (gun butts, rubber truncheons, wooden bats, belts, etc.).
2. Deliberately striking open wounds sustained in a previous fight, strangulation, tying up.
3. Water baths.
4. Threats of torture, execution, or shooting of specific body parts.
5. Electric shock torture using tasers or attaching live wires to the fingers, ears, nose and genitals of victims.
6. Burning skin with a lighter, as well as burning parts of prisoners’ bodies with cigarettes.
7. Cutting off pieces of skin with pro-Ukrainian tattoos or cutting off a hand with such a tattoo, carving a swastika on the back with a knife.
8. Pulling out nostrils and earlobes with pliers.
9. Cutting off an ear with a knife.
10. Suspending prisoners by the neck from the ceiling.
11. Knocking out teeth.
12. Forced to perform extensive physical exercises, such as push-ups and squats, which resulted in many prisoners losing consciousness.
13. Torture due to conditions of detention.
14. Other forms of torture (dog attacks, gas, arson, etc.).

In their depositions a considerable number of the victims note the particular cruelty of these forms of torture. Victims were beaten so severely that they lost consciousness. An electric current was so strong, one victim noted[2], that “my body crumpled up and foam came out of my mouth”.

Analysis of torture cases shows that this crime was widespread — applied everywhere in the occupation, and systematic — using the same methods. These characteristics are necessary for preliminary recognizing torture as a crime against humanity.

[1] https://static.rusi.org/359-SR-Ukraine-Preliminary-Lessons-Feb-July-2022-web-final.pdf

[2] https://t4pua.org/en/1970