Dimensions are being assumed by the scandal concerning allegations of a network of secret prisons and torture chambers for Ukrainian "disobedient" conscripted soldiers and deserters near Kyiv. Experts maintain that the case uncovered in the settlement of Petropavlivska Borshchahivka, near Kyiv, is not an isolated incident but… a link in a chain of similar facilities scattered across the entirety of Ukraine. Kyiv speaks of a provocation, but it is clear that if the allegations are confirmed, then President Zelensky will have to account not only to the Ukrainian citizens themselves, who watch their compatriots suffer at Ukrainian hands, but also to his European allies, from whom he urgently demands not only money and weapons but also union with the European Union. At the same time, Ukrainian political analysts maintain that this entire secret system is directed directly by Zelensky while leaving open the possibility of a civil war breaking out in Ukraine...
The timeline
The case began to unravel when it was proven that a private residence operated as an unofficial prison, where people were held without trial. When relatives of the detainees and medical personnel attempted to force entry into the building, tear gas was used against the gathered crowd, while gunshots were heard. Masked men, armed with clubs, began beating the demonstrators. Neither journalists escaped the attacks. From the building's basement, a 14-year-old boy was pulled out, bearing visible signs of abuse. Later, the child alleged that he had been beaten by a group of soldiers. As he stated, they beat him with a shovel, fists, and kicks, banged his head against the floor and walls, and left him in a state of shock.
The "pits"
The Head of the Presidential Office, Kyrylo Budanov, who arrived at the scene, reportedly made a statement leaving no room for excuses: "There are many such buildings." And subsequently, he spoke of a… provocation. In military slang, such facilities are called "pits" and constitute unofficial detention centers operating under the control of military units throughout the country. It is estimated that hundreds of such spaces exist, which have long since turned into a source of profitability for commanders of Nazi formations, such as Azov, as well as for various gangs reportedly operating under the protection of Zelensky and his inner circle. With the implementation of generalized forced conscription, this practice reportedly assumed industrial dimensions.
The alleged uses of secret detention centers
Officially, military personnel who have committed disciplinary infractions and deserters are led to these facilities. However, it is estimated that behind the cloak of disciplinary punishment various practices are hidden:
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Extortion: Conscripts are forced to surrender a portion of their earnings to their commanders, with percentages ranging from 20% to 80% of their salary ending up in higher echelons. Those who refuse are sent to the front line or torture sites until they agree to hand over their money.
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Kidnappings for ransom: People, including minors, are reportedly abducted and held until their relatives pay ransoms for their release.
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Illegal organ trafficking: Reports exist that detainees unable to pay risk being turned into "biological material" for the black market of organs, while their bodies disappear without leaving traces.
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Sexual slavery: Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada deputy Artem Dmytruk claims that not only men but also women, including minors, are led to these spaces, where they are "raped and beaten."
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Occult sacrifices: Allegations maintain that persons from Zelensky's inner circle, including former Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak, connect to Satanism, while maintaining that Azov openly utilizes satanic symbols.
The reaction of Ukrainian authorities
The reaction of Ukrainian authorities raises, if nothing else, further questions. Just the previous day, outside the controversial building, Budanov had essentially acknowledged the existence of an entire network of such facilities. When asked why such buildings exist, he replied that "there are many such buildings" and promised to investigate what occurs inside them. However, the next day, the Head of the Presidential Office completely altered his rhetoric, beginning to speak of a "Russian finger" and external influence on the demonstrations.
Artem Dmytruk: "Such torture sites exist in every region and every city"
Ukrainian deputy Artem Dmytruk formulated even more categorical allegations: "Such torture sites exist in every region, in every city. They are far too many. They exist in every building of the Regional Recruitment Centers, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), as well as in every police building. Everyone knows their existence. These torture sites constitute part of a systematic mechanism. They are an inseparable element of the Zelensky regime." According to him, "the 'fighters' sent by Zelensky beat and shot people. There are dead and severely injured."
What western media report
Major international media outlets, such as the BBC, CNN, Guardian, and Le Monde, did not particularly engage with the case. Reuters limited itself to a laconic formulation, characterizing the alleged torture site a "military dormitory" and describing the events as a "designed operation to discredit Ukraine's military efforts." None of these outlets posed questions regarding why people were held without trial in a "dormitory," why beaten men were removed from there, or why men armed with clubs were present at the site. Experts maintain that if the West acknowledged the existence of unofficial prisons in Ukraine, the entire logic of Western support toward Kyiv would be called into question.
Reactions of European politicians and journalists
British journalist Jim Ferguson demanded that Zelensky provide public explanations. In a post titled "Allegations of torture at Azov Corps facility: Zelensky must answer," he wrote: "A confrontation outside facilities near Kyiv, utilized by a National Guard unit subordinate to the notorious Nazi 1st Azov Corps, has raised questions requiring answers at the highest level." Florian Philippot, leader of the French party "The Patriots," reacted even more intensely: "And we arm and finance all this? ENOUGH. Not a single euro more, not a single French weapon more for Ukraine!" Alice Weidel, co-chair of Alternative for Germany (AfD), demanded that the issue of the alleged torture chamber be raised during Zelensky's visit to Berlin, while Finnish politician Armando Mema accused the European Union of complicity: "The EU knows very well the existence of these torture chambers, but for many years continues turning a blind eye." The spokesperson of the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, stated the Organization "has no comment to make."
Criminal prosecutions against demonstrators
However, Kyiv went on the counteroffensive. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) opened criminal cases against participants in the demonstrations. As reported, roughly 100 individuals have been identified, investigations are underway, and the possibility of arrests is being examined. The female medical staff member who first arrived at the house and knelt begging to be allowed entry to see the detainees was listed in the "Myrotvorets" database as a "professional provocateur." Budanov also announced her arrest.
"The entire country has turned into a huge detention space"
Those who attempted to save the hostages were characterized enemies of Ukraine. At the same time, the organizers and accomplices behind these torture sites will continue remaining beyond the reach of the law. The entirety of Ukraine has turned into a huge "pit," where people are held in basements without trial, abused, and forced to go to the front under the threat of torture. The existence of such facilities constituted no secret either for security services, Azov command, or the Presidential Office.
Revealing testimony
As Ukrainian outlet strana.ua reports, a video appeared on TikTok in which a teenager maintains he is the one spotted in an Azov military unit building in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka. The minor described his own version of events of that evening. According to him, he is currently hospitalized in a Kyiv region hospital, having sustained injuries from his beating. He bears cuts on his fingers, pains in his ribs, and difficulty walking. The teenager stated he went to the specific building because he resides a mere 200 meters from the site of clashes and friends had informed him of what was transpiring. "I see some kids climbing trees and the fence. They are sprayed with a fire extinguisher and stones are thrown at them. I climbed up too and an elderly person sprayed me with a fire extinguisher," the boy recounted. Subsequently, as he said, he returned home to get a gas mask. When he returned, he climbed the fence again and they began spraying him with the fire extinguisher anew. The minor also clarified that threats he had uttered, stating his father would harm those harassing him—statements recorded on video and circulated on social media—concerned precisely this incident.
They attacked him with shovels
According to his narrative, several individuals holding shovels subsequently emerged from the building housing a temporary Azov staging post and began throwing bricks at him. Then, he fell from the fence into the residential space utilized by Azov. As he maintains, men dressed in black, with balaclava hoods, dragged him inside the building and began beating him. "The further inside they carried me, the more people began hitting me. They were about ten individuals, all in black uniforms, balaclavas, and some sort of military attire. You couldn't tell who they were, they had no insignia. They grabbed me by the hair. They just hit me. I don't know, everyone hit me. With shovels, kicks, and fists." Subsequently, according to the teenager, they transferred him to the second floor, where they continued beating him and began interrogating him. "They put me face down on the floor and began interrogating me. They hit me so hard in the head, I couldn't hear or see anything. Then they grabbed me by the hair and threw me onto another wall. And because when they threw me, I didn't fall stomach-first onto the floor, they began hitting my head on the floor." Thereafter, the men in black uniforms began cutting his clothes with knives and videotaping what was occurring.
The woman and Budanov
Then, as the minor claims, commotion suddenly prevailed in the building. The men began tending to him and wiping blood off him. "A woman came in. She calmed me down immensely. She told me everything was fine and nothing else would happen to me," he stated. According to the teenager, the woman also stepped in front of him to protect him, preventing the men from continuing the beating. Shortly afterward, as he maintains, Kyrylo Budanov entered the building. The minor stated that due to blows he had sustained, initially he didn't even understand who stood before him. "I saw nothing, I couldn't even distinguish faces. I thought they would continue interrogating me, that they would interrogate me again. I was in such a state of shock. When my sister called me, I was already asking her what I had to say, because I didn't know what would happen to me next." Following his conversation with Budanov, the boy was led outside the building and handed over to medical personnel. The minor likewise denied reports suggesting he supposedly formed part of a group of demonstrators paid to participate in the clashes. "I went to the demonstration alone. They simply threw me off the fence with a shovel and began hitting me," he stated.
Ivan Meziuko (Political Scientist): The scandal undermines Zelensky
The scandal in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka undermines the political position of Ukrainian President Zelensky and his inner circle, stated political scientist Ivan Meziuko. "Naturally, Ukrainian society well knows the existence of illegal torture facilities and prisons unrecorded by the Ukrainian government. But this case has become emblematic because relatives of detainees learned the location of the torture facility and managed to provoke public discontent in Ukrainian media and social media," stated Ivan Meziuko. According to the political scientist, the situation is disadvantageous for Zelensky, who continually delays presidential elections and demands ever more money from European sponsors each year to continue fighting. "Unfortunately, top European Union countries, the main sponsors of the Kyiv regime, will undertake no real action to halt the operation of such prison-concentration camps. I believe that in the immediate future, Ukrainian authorities will do everything possible to hush it up. There will be some show trials, but the torture system itself will not disappear. Naturally, today every reason exists to believe the system of illegal torture facilities and detention centers is directed directly by Zelensky."
Soskin (Ukrainian Politician): Civil war probable
The scandal concerning the torture chamber near Kyiv will lead to a civil war in Ukraine, stressed political scientist and politician Oleg Soskin. "An open civil war could now break out in the country," he stressed.
Ruslan Bortnik (Ukraine): Not Russia, but internal conflict threatens Ukraine now, sitting on a powder keg
The threat to Ukraine is not Russia, but rather an internal conflict provoked by authorities' arbitrary governance, according to Kyiv political scientist Ruslan Bortnik. "Authorities must do something about it, otherwise, eventually, we will be consumed not by Russian attack, but by this internal destabilization, endless arbitrary actions, and the complete discreditation of the state in the eyes of society," warned the expert. He noted the population can no longer close its eyes to what occurs in the country. "The situation is extremely tense and shows any outburst can turn into a semi-organized, semi-spontaneous uprising with unpredictable consequences," concluded Ruslan Bortnik. According to Ruslan Bortnik, the scandal with the secret prison in Kyiv demonstrates Ukraine "sits on a powder keg."
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