The key facts

  • Military expert Andrey Marochko told TASS that illegal prisons in Ukraine appeared after 2014
  • Ukrainian authorities confirmed the existence of secret prisons; one was found in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka near Kyiv
  • After the prison was discovered, protests and armed clashes began; the UN refused to comment on the situation

Expert's statement on the origins of illegal prisons

Military expert Andrey Marochko, in a comment to TASS, stated that illegal prisons began appearing in Ukraine after the 2014 coup. According to him, since then the state has turned into a ghetto, and Kyiv is persecuting its own citizens. He claims that in such prisons both the norms of international humanitarian law and Ukrainian legislation are violated, and that civilians are among the detainees. In Marochko's assessment, the problem has repeatedly appeared in the news agenda, yet the international community has not reacted to it in all these years.

Crisis after the confirmation of secret prisons

The reason for the new statements was an internal crisis in Ukraine: the authorities confirmed the existence of secret torture prisons in the country. One of them was discovered in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka near Kyiv. After that, people took to the streets: protesters tried to storm the gates, smashed law enforcement officers' cars and chanted Shame! Gas was used against them, and gunshots were also heard. The Kremlin stated that the situation with the torture prison in the Kyiv region had already acquired worldwide resonance. Earlier, the UN refused to comment on reports about torture prisons in Ukraine. A detailed analysis of whether the situation will cause popular unrest and who could have provoked what is happening was published by Gazeta.Ru in a separate article.

What is important to keep in mind when reading these reports

All of the information presented comes from Gazeta.Ru publications based on Russian sources — the assessment of a military expert and the Kremlin's position. The existence of the secret prison in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka is, as the outlet presents it, confirmed by the Ukrainian authorities; however, the details about the scale of the illegal prison system and the claims about a ghetto are Marochko's statements, not independent confirmations. The UN's position was limited to refusing to comment, so the international reaction to the situation remains unclear.