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Russia Runs Secret Network of Torture Prisons for Ukrainian Civilians and POWs, Report Finds
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Russian authorities have set up a vast network of at least 29 prisons where Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war are subjected to systematic torture, according to a major investigation by The Guardian on April 30.
Based on over six months of reporting and more than 50 interviews with survivors, families, and former prison staff, the investigation indicates that torture is being used not only for punishment but also to extract false confessions.
The evidence strongly suggests that this system of abuse is organized and maintained with the knowledge or involvement of Russia’s top leadership.
Eighteen of the identified torture sites are located inside Russia, with another eleven in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine, The Guardian reports.
Common torture methods include electric shocks, mock executions, beatings with hammers, repeated strikes to the same part of the body, and attempted drownings. Detainees are also humiliated — bound with tape and used as human “furniture.”
Ukrainian prisoners are routinely denied food, forbidden from speaking their language, and psychologically abused to the point of attempted suicide. Numerous deaths have been reported at several sites.
The true number of Ukrainians illegally held in Russian detention remains unknown. According to Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights, more than 16,000 Ukrainians were officially missing as of April 2024. The International Committee of the Red Cross has confirmed that at least 1,800 are being held by Russian forces.
The investigation, titled Viktoriia, honors Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who died in Russian custody.
Roshchyna disappeared in August 2023 after traveling to Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine to investigate FSB’s involvement in the abduction of civilians. She was last seen in the occupied city of Enerhodar in Zaporizhzhia region.
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Following her arrest, Roshchyna was taken to Melitopol, where she was subjected to months of brutal torture, according to a former cellmate.
She was reportedly electrocuted with wires attached to her ears and suffered repeated cuts. In April 2024, Russia’s Ministry of Defense confirmed to her family that she was in captivity and was being considered for a prisoner exchange.
But in early September, she was taken from her cell — allegedly to record a forced confession video — and was never seen again.
In October, Russia’s Defense Ministry officially notified Ukrainian authorities of her death, listing only the date: September 19. No further details were provided.
Roshchyna’s body was returned to Ukraine only in February. Her brain, eyes, and part of her larynx had been removed. An autopsy revealed a fractured hyoid bone, abrasions, hemorrhaging, neck trauma, a broken rib, and possible signs of electrocution on her feet.
“This level of abuse is not possible without approval from the highest levels,” said Alice Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, in an interview for the investigation. “Torture has become an integral part of the Russian war machine — used systematically against civilians and POWs in all occupied territories and detention facilities.”
Earlier, reports emerged that Russia was set to ramp up its deportation of Ukrainian children from occupied territories under the guise of summer holidays, according to statements from Russian officials.
A Kremlin representative revealed that approximately 53,000 children from Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine are scheduled to “spend their summer holidays” at camps across both occupied Ukraine and within Russia.
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