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SBU Detains Ex-National Guardsman for Collaborating and Abusing POWs in Russian Colony
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The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), alongside the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) and the Prosecutor General’s Office, has gathered evidence against a National Guard senior rifleman accused of torturing fellow Ukrainian prisoners of war while held in a Russian penal colony, the SBU announced on June 18, 2026.
The Ukrainian serviceman reportedly entered Russian captivity in June 2022 and subsequently chose to cooperate with the Russian army. In exchange for his collaboration, Russian authorities appointed him as the supervisor of the second floor of barracks number eight at the Kalininska Correctional Colony No. 27 in temporarily occupied Gorlivka, Donetsk region, according to the SBU case files.
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Operating under direct instructions from Russian forces, the suspect subjected other Ukrainian prisoners to systemic psychological pressure, physical threats, and forced hard labor. The joint investigation by the SBU and DBR established that the suspect’s severe abuse and torture resulted in the death of one Ukrainian soldier and left dozens of other prisoners with varying degrees of bodily injuries.
The suspect returned to Ukraine in March 2025 as part of a prisoner-of-war exchange between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, the Prosecutor General’s Office noted. Since his return, Ukrainian intelligence and law enforcement agencies have gathered extensive testimonies from numerous witnesses who were detained alongside the suspect in the occupied facility.
A search conducted at the soldier’s current residence uncovered a smartphone containing digital evidence corroborating his actions while in captivity, investigators stated.
Based on the documented evidence, the individual has been officially notified of suspicion of violence or cruel treatment of prisoners of war by a senior captive. A court has ordered the suspect to be held in custody without bail, and he faces up to eight years in prison if convicted, the SBU reported.
The security network’s exposure follows a previous counterintelligence action where the SBU dismantled a Russian military intelligence ring plotting high-profile assassinations across Ukraine. The specialized operation resulted in the detention of over ten operatives and the neutralization of an armed assailant who violently resisted arrest, according to the SBU.
The GRU-trained cell had been actively tracking prominent public and military figures, including Defense Ministry adviser Serhiy Sternenko, to execute targeted bombings and close-range shootings.
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