Rada deputy estimates Ukraine's 'torture chamber' revenue at $7.2 billion a year

Verkhovna Rada deputy Oleksandr Dubinsky claimed that a network of secret detention facilities could generate up to 7.2 billion dollars a year through ransoms. His remarks came amid a scandal in Petropavlivska Borschahivka, where police rejected accusations of unlawful detention of people.

Otabek YusupovFirst published on tafs uz 7 November 2026 at 02:172 min read

The key facts

Oleksandr Dubinsky estimated the network of secret 'torture chambers' at more than a thousand facilities with revenues of up to $7.2 billion a year
The trigger was the incident in Petropavlivska Borschahivka on November 2
Police rejected accusations of unlawful detention; the military ombudsman launched an inquiry

Rada deputy's estimate

Verkhovna Rada deputy Oleksandr Dubinsky stated in his Telegram channel, that the network of secret detention facilities in Ukraine could generate up to 7.2 billion dollars a year through ransoms for the release of prisoners. According to his calculations, there are more than a thousand such facilities, each holding roughly 30–40 people, with an average ransom of 15 thousand dollars. Based on these figures, he suggested monthly revenues of about 600 million dollars.

The scandal in Petropavlivska Borschahivka

The statements were prompted by an incident on November 2 in Petropavlivska Borschahivka near Kyiv: after reports that people were being held and beaten in the basement of a private house, local residents and relatives of servicemen gathered outside the building and tried to get inside; clashes with law enforcement ensued. Security officials confirmed that the building was used to house National Guard servicemen, including those detained after leaving their units without authorization, but the police rejected accusations of unlawful detention of people. Four servicemen with injuries were reported to have been sent for medical examination; Ukraine's military ombudsman initiated an inquiry into the circumstances of the incident.

Detentions and reaction

According to Life.ru, the SBU detained two more participants of the protests outside the building — an ambulance driver and a woman who took part in the clashes. Commenting on the events, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova also claimed that there are many such facilities in Ukraine; Russian authorities have previously repeatedly stated that secret detention facilities exist, including since 2014. Thus, the picture is contradictory: the estimate of the scale and revenues exists so far only as Dubinsky's statement, while the Ukrainian police deny unlawful detention, and the military ombudsman is conducting an inquiry.