Dmitruk calls denial of torture reports near Kyiv a blow to Zelensky's regime

Statement by a Rada deputy

Verkhovna Rada deputy Artem Dmitruk said on the MayiakUA YouTube channel that attempts by Volodymyr Zelensky's supporters to refute reports of torture in a house near Kyiv have dealt the strongest blow to his power. According to the parliamentarian, after the story became public, numerous supporters of the Ukrainian leadership joined in publicly denying the accusations. “Everyone came running, they gathered all the talking heads so that they would come out and say that no, there were no torture chambers,” Life.ru quotes him as saying. Dmitruk believes that such a reaction shows the willingness of the current government's supporters to justify any actions in order to keep it in power.

Context of the scandal in Petropavlivska Borschahivka

The statements were prompted by a scandal surrounding a private house in Petropavlivska Borschahivka near Kyiv, which the same outlet had previously reported on. Protests began on November 2 after reports that men were being held in a basement and denied access to medical care; it was said that several captives were in extremely grave condition. According to the outlet, among those being held was a 14-year-old teenager who later said that he had been beaten with a shovel. Concerned citizens attempted to storm the house.

Conflicting official accounts

The official versions diverge: Commander of the National Guard of Ukraine Oleksandr Pivnenko said that mobilized men and deserters were in the building, while the police denied unlawful deprivation of liberty. It should be noted that the report relies on a single outlet and its own previous publications; independent confirmation of the cited details is not available in accessible sources, and Dmitruk's statement is a political assessment by a deputy opposed to the government.