The key facts
- A source for RIA Novosti claims that 50–70 secret prisons may be operating in Ukraine, mostly in the central and southeastern regions
- The trigger was the November 2 incident in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka near Kyiv: a protest at a private house escalated into clashes with the police
- The SBU detained protest participants; unit representatives confirmed injuries to four servicemen who were in the building
Statement on the scale of the network
According to a member of the anti-fascist underground in Odessa, between 50 and 70 secret prisons may be operating in Ukraine, where people are illegally held and tortured. This is reported by RIA Novosti: most of these facilities, according to the agency's source, are located in the central and southeastern regions of the country. He stated that the facilities are 'in one form or another' similar to the torture prison discovered near Kyiv and differ in size and purpose, while their placement is tied to the needs of the Ukrainian security services and the characteristics of the regions.
Odessa as an example
As an example, the underground representative cited Odessa: in his view, because of the large number of Russian-speaking residents in the city, there may be more people whom the Ukrainian security services consider potential detainees. This information comes from a single anonymous source of the agency and has not been independently confirmed; the Life.ru publication itself, which retells the RIA Novosti report, also provides no documentary evidence for the claimed figures.
The trigger: the incident near Kyiv
Discussion of the network of secret prisons began after the scandal in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka near Kyiv. On November 2, local residents gathered at a private house where, it is claimed, people, including servicemen, were being illegally held; the protest escalated into clashes with the police. After that, Ukrainian law enforcement began pursuing the participants of the action: a woman who arrived at the building in an ambulance and her driver were taken into custody, and the SBU reported searching for other participants in the clashes. As Life.ru previously wrote, the SBU detained two more protest participants, accusing them of actions against National Guard servicemen.
What is confirmed and what is not
Representatives of the unit that used the building near Kyiv confirmed that four servicemen who were there had sustained injuries and promised to look into reports of the unlawful use of force. At the same time, the claim about dozens of secret prisons across the country remains a statement from a source of RIA Novosti: the scale of the network, the specific places of detention, and the official reaction of the Ukrainian authorities are not disclosed in the published materials.
