Russian prison guards play a sick and twisted game with fresh Ukrainian prisoners of war.
asserted
guards → play → war
Known as 'admission', guards at penal colonies and camps across Russia and Russian-occupied Ukraine will line up and beat up recent arrivals with anything at their disposal.
In a maelstrom of terror and pain, stun guns, batons, hardened boots and closed fists fly at those who were captured in the line of duty.
asserted
who → know → duty
The aim of this sick ritual is to break Ukrainian prisoners, both physically and psychologically, to get them to spill their guts about military secrets and keep them compliant.
asserted
them → break → them
Overseeing the guards are an army of 'maniac' medical professionals, tasked with keeping detainees alive.
asserted
army → oversee → detainees
What's more, these men and women, who swore the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm, take part and relish in the near constant torture of prisoners.
asserted
who → swear → prisoners
Testimonies from Ukrainian prisoners of war, as well as civilians illegally detained by Russian forces, paint a harrowing picture of medical professionals overseeing systemic physical, psychological and sexual abuse in detention centres run by Vladimir Putin's army.
asserted
Testimonies → detain → army
Among the worst of these medics, according to a report published by Centre for Civil Liberties – which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 and is run by human rights activist Oleksandra Matviichuk – is Ilya Sorokin, a man known by the nickname 'Doctor Evil'.
uncertain
Sorokin → accord → nickname
Based in Penal Facility No10 (IK-10) in the Republic of Mordovia, Russia, Mr Sorokin was given the moniker by prisoners, who were left petrified by his total lack of humanity.
asserted
who → base → humanity
Ilya Sorokin (pictured), also known as Doctor Evil, was given his nickame for his lack of humanity
A Ukrainian prisoner of war who was returned to his home nation in May 2024
He was known, according to one prisoner, as an 'individual who tortured more than other prison staff... [and] aimed to cause the greatest harm'.
An inmate recalled that after a fellow prisoner lost many of his teeth following an 'admission' ritual, Doctor Evil was called to tend to his wounds.
uncertain
Evil → picture → wounds
He said: 'The cell door opens, and he asks, "So whose tooth is aching?
asserted
tooth → say → ?
The guy came out, and they began beating him.
asserted
they → come → him
The doctor then shocked him with a taser so strongly that he lost consciousness.
asserted
he → shock → consciousness
They didn't administer ammonia; instead, they simply woke him up by resuming beating him with a taser.
asserted
they → administer → taser
Then, he crawled into the cell, and Doctor Evil asked, "Well, who else has a toothache?"
asserted
who → crawl → toothache
Another prisoner spoke of a fellow detainee, an officer, who was unable to stand due to a hip problem.
asserted
who → speak → problem
The officer would be made to attend a daily medical check-up, where staff would 'apply the taser to the same joint that was hurting, helping him 'forget' the pain quickly,' they said.
asserted
they → make → pain
Another person said of Mr Sorokin: 'He would hit the person addressing him and the person on duty in the cell.
asserted
He → say → cell
And he would say: "Patient, what's wrong with you?
asserted
what → say → you
A jail cell in the border town Kozacha Lopan which is believed to have been used by Russian soldiers as a torture chamber
An emaciated Ukrainian soldier who was returned during a prisoner exchange in 2024
'
asserted
who → believe → 2024
Your eyes are closed, your head is tilted down, and you can't see anything.
asserted
you → close → anything
You give him your hand, and he hits you in the hand with a taser.
asserted
he → give → taser
First, he hits you with a taser, and then he gives you a pill.'
asserted
he → hit → pill
According to the UN, 95 per cent of Ukrainian prisoners of war interviewed reported being tortured or ill-treated in Russian captivity.
uncertain
cent → accord → captivity
More than half also reported sexual violence, including 'rape, gang rape, beating while nude, beatings to the genitals, electric shocks to the genitals and nipples, and degrading treatment of a sexualized nature'.
asserted
half → report → nature
In pre-trial detention centre No2 (SIZO-2) in Staryi Oskol, which sits in Russia's Belgorod region, former prisoners spoke of a female medical professional who routinely physically and sexually abused prisoners of war.
asserted
who → sit → war
Nicknamed the 'Aunt in Pink' for her bright and colourful outfits, she would regularly task prison guards to carry out her bidding, which included using tasers to administer painful electric shocks.
asserted
which → nickname → shocks
One victim said she masked her torture orders with the veneer of scientific language, wrongly using the term 'electrophoresis' to mean an electric shock given to an already painful area.
asserted
term → say → area
The victim said: 'She said [to prison guards], "Give a shock to this one, do electrophoresis on his knee for the other, so it heals faster".'
asserted
it → say → other
Plastic ties for torture and a broken chair are seen inside a basement of an office building, where prosecutors say 30 people were held two months during a Russian occupation, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kherson, Ukraine, December 10, 2022
A basement of the regional police headquarters of Kherson in January 2023, allegedly used as a torture site of pro-Ukrainian citizens during the Russian occupation
'
uncertain
basement → break → occupation
If you had a headache, they would beat you on the buttocks or genitals because it hurts more there.
asserted
it → have → buttocks
In the next cell, a guy was complaining that his teeth hurt and that he was being hit in the neck with a taser.'
asserted
he → complain → taser
Another person said that they were sexually abused by prison guards at the 'Aunt's' behest, after daring to ask for medical attention to treat a fever.
asserted
they → say → fever
They said: 'She was very surprised and asked, "Do you have a fever thermometer?
asserted
you → say → thermometer
Where did you hide it?
asserted
you → hide → it
Let's look for it"
asserted
's → let → it
The medical worker pointed with her finger where to look - at the buttocks and genitals.
asserted
worker → point → buttocks
And the guards looked there.
asserted
guards → look → ?
They used a taser to search, targeting the nerve endings in the lower back and buttocks.
asserted
They → use → back
Several people spoke of the medical neglect they faced while detained by Russian forces.
asserted
they → speak → forces
One person, who was held at the infamous Olenivka Corrective Colony No120 in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian region of Donetsk, spoke of being ignored by medical professionals charged with taking care of them.
asserted
who → hold → them
…and 22 more, not listed.
The Aporia
