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“Doctor Evil” Exposed: Russian Medic Who Tortured Ukrainian POWs in Mordovia Prison Identified
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![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
The Russian doctor who tortured Ukrainian prisoners of war in a Mordovia prison colony has been identified as 34-year-old Ilya Sorokin. According to a July 17 investigation by Ukrainian outlet Skhemy, Sorokin worked at Medical Unit No. 13, which serves Correctional Colony No. 10—one of Russia’s most closed and brutal detention facilities.
Former Ukrainian prisoners describe Sorokin as a sadist who denied them medical care, beat them, and subjected them to torture. They didn’t know his real name — inside the colony, he was simply known as "Doctor Evil."
Among the prisoners were Pavlo Afisov, Oleksandr Kiriyenko, Nikita Pikulik, and Yulian Pylypey.
Pavlo Afisov, an officer of Ukraine’s 36th Marine Brigade, spent 18 months in the colony. He says Sorokin routinely used a stun gun, forced prisoners to crawl or jump, and scream the lyrics of Russian songs.
“He got aesthetic pleasure from seeing us humiliated — bent over, hands raised, eyes closed — while he kicked us between the legs, punched us in the gut and liver, beat us with a rubber baton, and shocked us,” Afisov recalled. “He said people like us deserve genocide.”
Skhemy also linked Sorokin to the death of Ukrainian POW Volodymyr Yukhymenko. Fellow prisoners said Yukhymenko was severely beaten, developed psychological issues, and was denied medical care — even after repeated pleas to Sorokin. Yukhymenko died on September 1, 2023. A Ukrainian forensic examination revealed he had pneumonia, numerous bruises, fractures, and internal bleeding.
Journalists reviewed photos and videos of staff from the prison’s medical unit and showed them to about 150 former POWs from Colony No. 10. Around 50 identified Sorokin.
The colony itself consists of four buildings. The first and largest housed Afisov and Kiriyenko. Pikulik was held in the third building. The fourth contains solitary confinement cells and holds sick prisoners—this is where Pylypey was kept.
According to prisoners’ testimonies, the second building is used not only to hold inmates but also for the so-called "reception"—the initial procedures upon the arrival of POWs—as well as for interrogations. The medical block is also located there.
Records show Sorokin worked at the colony’s medical unit since 2018 and joined the Russian military in late 2024 under the call sign “Doctor.” He is now reportedly assigned to a logistics unit but maintains ties with the colony, receiving equipment, medicines, and camouflage nets from his former colleagues.
When Skhemy contacted Sorokin, he denied any involvement: “That’s not possible. I don’t work there,” he said. Yet the medical unit’s administration confirmed his employment.
At least 177 Ukrainian POWs passed through Colony No. 10 in Mordovia between June 2022 and April 2025.
Earlier, during the briefing at the Ukraine Media Center, Nestor Barchuk, from the International Cooperation Division of the 1st Corps of Ukraine’s National Guard “Azov,” accused Russia of systematically torturing Ukrainian prisoners of war.
