The key facts
- Zakharova said the shock was caused by Budanov's words that 'there are many such buildings'
- Budanov promised to look into the reasons for the appearance of such facilities
- The National Guard confirmed the presence of servicemen in the house but rejected accusations of unlawful detention
Comment by the Russian Foreign Ministry
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing that what shocked many was not so much the footage from the alleged torture chamber near Kyiv, but the admission by the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Kyrylo Budanov*, that there are many such facilities in Ukraine. In her view, the tense situation forced the Ukrainian authorities to depart from their usual public rhetoric. This was reported by Life.ru.
The essence of the scandal near Kyiv
The discussion was prompted by a private house in the village of Petropavlivska Borshchahivka near Kyiv. Ukrainian media reported that people, including servicemen, were being held in its basement; evidence of possible beatings emerged, after which protesters gathered outside the building. When asked about the existence of such facilities, Budanov* replied: “Because there are many such buildings,” and promised to look into the reasons for their appearance.
The position of the Ukrainian authorities
Ukrainian law enforcement confirmed the presence of National Guard servicemen in the house, but rejected reports of unlawful detention of people. National Guard commander Oleksandr Pivnenko described the building as a temporary deployment point and said four servicemen with injuries had been hospitalized. Thus, the sides differ in their assessment of the nature of the facility: the Russian side and Ukrainian media speak of a place where people were held, while Ukrainian security agencies call it a lawful deployment point.
Additional circumstances
Zakharova also noted that when communicating with outraged citizens, Ukrainian officials switched to Russian; in her assessment, this revealed a discrepancy between Kyiv's official language policy and the behavior of government representatives in a crisis situation. Earlier, Life.ru reported on the testimony of a 14-year-old teenager, who was harmed during the events near the house: the boy claims he was beaten and given an unknown pill, after which he ended up in a hospital. These claims are cited based on the words of the teenager and the outlet and were not independently confirmed in the cited publications.
Note
* Kyrylo Budanov has been added by Rosfinmonitoring to its list of terrorists and extremists.
