The Kupyansk torture chamber: what residents of the de-occupied Kharkiv region still cannot forget?

In this episode of the program «Free our relatives» we delved into the topic of the torture chambers established by the occupiers in Kupyansk, specifically focusing on the one operating within the Kupyansk district police station.

The Kupyansk torture chamber — during the occupation of the Kharkiv region, the Russian forces established a torture chamber in the Kupyansk district police station. Law enforcement is aware of over 150 victims, ranging from 15 to 65 years old, who were held in the local detention center. According to Serhiy Bolvinov, the head of the Kharkiv regional police, 67 individuals have been officially recognized as victims of the occupiers in the Kupyansk torture chamber, involving 73 documented episodes of torture. The detainees endured systematic torture and psychological abuse, resulting in the confirmed deaths of at least two individuals during the occupation. Abductees were coerced into providing false testimony against other local residents.

Human rights activists from the ZMINA Human Rights Center collected the victims’ testimonies. Yelyzaveta Sokurenko, the head of the war crimes documentation department at the Center, shared additional insights with us.

Is it possible that there were more victims than officially reported?

Yelyzaveta Sokurenko: There could have been additional casualties if the bodies were removed or concealed in undisclosed locations. Similar cases have been documented in research on other detention facilities. For instance, in the Kherson region, specifically in a school in Bilyayivka, we know of two deceased individuals whose bodies were taken by the Russians, and their whereabouts remain unknown. Therefore, it is plausible that there were other fatalities at the Kupyansk district police station that we might never learn about.

How many Ukrainians did the Russians take away upon withdrawing from Kupyansk?

Yelyzaveta Sokurenko: Determining the exact number is challenging because we must consider how people left—whether they were forcibly taken from Kupyansk or if they left voluntarily, possibly due to the demonization of Ukrainian Armed Forces by the Russians.

Is Kupyansk the primary torture chamber?

Yelyzaveta Sokurenko: Given that it is a temporary detention facility, specific conditions were in place for housing individuals there. Of course the Russians attempted to make these conditions as harsh as possible. People were brought in from nearby settlements, including those they sought to coerce into cooperation, such as notable figures within the community, such as school principals and local authorities.

What torture chambers look like

Yelyzaveta Sokurenko: In November, we visited the temporary detention facility in Kupyansk. No documents remained, but one victim managed to capture a photo of the occupiers’ notebook containing names of detainees and instructions on how to handle them. Our task was to identify locations where people were held and tortured, aligning them with the accounts of those we interviewed.

These torture chambers share a common appearance—cells with assorted items, bottles of water, and excrement left by the detainees. Notably, Kupyansk featured a punishment cell: a solitary, extremely cold space reserved for individuals facing serious charges.

What set Kupyansk apart from other detention sites was the frequent confinement of detainees in the exercise yard, handcuffed to benches or turnstiles, subjected to uncomfortable conditions. People were hung from doors without access to toilets or water.

In one instance, a 19-year-old girl was left alone in the exercise yard for three days, clad in light clothing and devoid of toilet access.

Overall, the conditions in all cells amounted to mistreatment, bordering on torture, as individuals were denied basic hygiene. They were compelled to attend to their bodily needs in the presence of others. Even women were subjected to these conditions, denied access to hygiene products. There was an incident where a girl, upon starting her period, was provided only with a piece of gauze.

People were compelled to cooperate through torture

Yelyzaveta Sokurenko: There is a case involving the detention of a city council representative who resisted cooperating with the occupiers. He endured severe beatings and torture, including electric shocks administered to his genitals. Instances of extreme violence occurred, reflecting the high levels of brutality. Nevertheless, psychological coercion was also a prevalent method to induce cooperation.

Those who endured the basements are afraid to return home

Yelyzaveta Sokurenko: Survivors of torture hesitate to return to Kupyansk due to potential betrayals from those still residing in the city. The pervasive culture of denunciation has deeply impacted the community, fostering apprehension and mutual distrust among its members.

Our direct interactions with the local population in Kupyansk, unaffected by the occupiers’ crimes, have been limited. Consequently, I cannot definitively comment on the general sentiment regarding the fear of the Russians’ return. However, given Kupyansk’s proximity to Russian territory (merely 40 km away) and its strategic significance, the fear of renewed occupation lingers.

Occupiers subjected teenagers to torture in Kupyansk

Yelyzaveta Sokurenko: We have one documented case of the torture of a minor. The boy, aged 17 at the time, was detained during a document check at a checkpoint. The authorities were searching for the boy’s father, who shared the same surname, leading to the boy’s detention for questioning about his father’s whereabouts. He was held for approximately seven hours. While being escorted from the checkpoint to the district police station, he endured physical abuse. During interrogation, he was subjected to beatings with a stun gun and faced threats of various detailed forms of violence against him, his mother, and sister.

Since the boy was unable to provide information about his father’s location, he was eventually released. Subsequently, the occupiers located the boy’s father, unfortunately discovering that he too had been a victim of torture and brutal beatings. Presently, this family resides in Kharkiv.

Russians abandoned prisoners during their retreat

Yelyzaveta Sokurenko: According to official data, the occupiers took five prisoners from the Kupyansk SIZO, leaving the remaining inmates behind as they fled. On September 8, approximately 130-150 people were released from the Kupyansk temporary detention facility. Russian Federation representatives were present on the facility’s premises in the morning, conducting interrogations, but by evening, they were no longer there. Recognizing this opportunity, the detainees took action – breaking the bars in one of the cells, with one detainee escaping and liberating others in the process. Some individuals were found handcuffed in the exercise yard. Following their release, the detainees set fire to documents containing information about them, fearing potential re-detention based on these records, unsure of the town’s liberation status.

Upon the entry of Ukrainian military forces into the city, they discovered Konstantin Mironov in one of the basements. He was in a dire condition and succumbed to the consequences of torture by the occupiers, passing away in the hospital on September 11.

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We would like to remind you that at the fourth meeting of advisers in Davos, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, called on the international community to urgently unite efforts to bring home all Ukrainians illegally taken by the Russian occupiers.

The Ombudsperson emphasized that the goal is to bring home all Ukrainians taken as prisoners of war and illegally deported by Russia. Therefore, he stated that the international community «must immediately consolidate its efforts in this direction».

«In Davos, our partners listened to the voices of Ukrainian children whom we have brought home, relatives of civilians abducted and illegally detained by Russia. They were shocked by what they heard», — Lubinets said.

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In times of war, the program «Free our relatives» tells the stories of people, cities, villages, and entire regions that have been captured by Russian invaders. We discuss the war crimes committed by the Kremlin and its troops against the Ukrainian people.

The program is hosted by Igor Kotelianets and Anastasia Bagalika.

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The coverage of war crimes resulting from Russia’s war against Ukraine is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the framework of the Human Rights in Action Program implemented by Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union.

Opinions, conclusions and recommendations presented in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government. The contents are the responsibility of the authors.