Ukrainian law enforcement, in cooperation with military intelligence, has identified two potential war criminals alleged to have been involved in operating a Russian-run torture chamber in the occupied town of Vovchansk.
Vovchansk is located in the north of Kharkiv region, less than 10 kilometers (6.25 miles) from the border with Russia’s Belgorod region and 50 kilometers (31.25 miles) from the city of Kharkiv.
According to Ukraine’s National Police, the suspects – aged 22 and 24 – were members of illegal armed groups affiliated with the so-called “Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics.”
During the Russian occupation of Vovchansk, they allegedly collaborated with Russian forces to establish and guard a torture facility located on the grounds of the Vovchansk Aggregate Plant.
“In these dungeons, the occupiers held Ukrainian supporters, subjecting them to torture, psychological pressure, threats, and forced labor,” Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (HUR) reported on Tuesday, May 13.
The two suspects have been formally charged with committing war crimes under Articles 438 and 28 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. If convicted, they face up to 12 years in prison. The Office of the Prosecutor General is overseeing the case, another addition to the growing legal effort to bring Russian collaborators and proxy fighters to justice for atrocities committed in occupied Ukrainian territories.
“The Defense Intelligence of Ukraine reminds: every war crime committed against the Ukrainian people will be met with just retribution,” the agency stated.
During the Russian occupation of Ukrainian territory, Russian troops and their proxy forces systematically used torture against civilians and prisoners. Across numerous liberated towns – from Izium and Bucha to Kherson and Vovchansk – investigators discovered makeshift torture sites in basements, garages, and administrative buildings.
Victims were illegally detained, beaten, electrocuted, suffocated with plastic bags, subjected to mock executions, had their ribs and fingers broken, and in some cases were sexually assaulted.
The victims included both military personnel and civilians – such as volunteers, activists, veterans, local officials, and at times, random residents. People were forced into cooperation, coerced into confessions, or targeted for their pro-Ukrainian stance or simply out of vengeance.
These crimes are now being thoroughly documented as part of ongoing war crimes investigations. Many of the acts described are classified as violations of the Geneva Conventions.