Ukrainian human rights lawyer Oleksandra Matviichuk has called for urgent international action following allegations that Russian medical personnel helped torture Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war, including by withholding medical treatment, using electric shocks and inflicting slogans on detainees’ bodies.
Matviichuk, who heads the Center for Civil Liberties, said the alleged abuses required greater international scrutiny and action to protect people held in Russian detention facilities. The organisation shared the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize with Russian human rights group Memorial and Belarusian human rights campaigner Ales Bialiatski.
The allegations are documented in a report titled Anatomy of Torture, which was written by four experts at the Center for Civil Liberties with support from the UK Government. According to the report, testimonies from former detainees describe medical personnel participating in abuse rather than providing care in accordance with medical ethics.
“We want to share this information to put pressure on Russia in order to save lives, because people are dying. People are dying,” Matviichuk told Metro. She said detainees faced inhuman conditions and treatment that went beyond what many people could imagine.
One testimony described a prisoner who encountered medical personnel only after losing consciousness during torture. According to Matviichuk, the detainee said doctors were called to administer an injection and revive him so that the torture could continue.
Another case involved a Ukrainian soldier who reportedly regained consciousness after surgery and discovered that the words “Glory to Russia” had been carved into his skin using a surgical instrument.
Matviichuk said the soldier was returned to Ukraine through a prisoner exchange and was undergoing a painful, lengthy process to remove the inscription.
The report’s findings form part of a wider investigation into alleged abuses against Ukrainians held in Russian custody. Matviichuk argued that the accounts were not isolated incidents, pointing to evidence collected over 12 years, beginning with Russia’s invasion and occupation of Crimea in 2014.
The Center for Civil Liberties has gathered information from former detainees, as well as relatives and other people with knowledge of individuals who remain in occupied territories or detention. The organisation also examines publicly available material, including videos and social media posts, and cross-checks the information against other evidence.
Among the accounts included in the report are allegations concerning a medical worker at a detention facility in Russia’s Republic of Mordovia. Several former detainees reportedly referred to the individual as “Doctor Evil”.
One former prisoner alleged that the medical worker struck detainees before asking about their symptoms. The witness described being unable to see clearly or lift their head while being examined, then being struck with a taser before receiving medication.
Another testimony accused the same medical worker of participating in torture while ensuring that detainees remained alive.
Ukrainian human rights organisation KHPG identified the individual as Ilya Sorokin. The report states that Ukraine’s Security Service charged him in absentia in December 2025. The allegations have not been presented here as independently established findings, and the supplied account does not include a response from Sorokin.
Matviichuk said arresting the individual would be difficult because he remained in Russia. She also said submissions concerning the alleged crimes had been sent to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, urging the court to open a case involving crimes against humanity.
She called for the International Committee of the Red Cross to receive full access to Ukrainian civilians detained unlawfully and prisoners of war. She also proposed establishing a special medical commission that could travel to Russia and assess the conditions and treatment of detainees.
Matviichuk urged medical professionals around the world to speak out against the alleged conduct, arguing that pressure from within the international medical community could discourage further abuses. She noted that some exchanges and forms of cooperation with Russia continued despite the allegations.
The campaign has also sought intervention from the World Health Organization. Last week, the Center for Civil Liberties and other organisations sent an appeal to the WHO calling on it to address the reported violations.
The letter said the organisation had the expertise and international reach to highlight violations of the right to health, promote recognised standards of medical care and defend medical ethics during armed conflict.
The WHO declined to comment when contacted by Metro.
The appeal places renewed attention on the treatment of Ukrainian detainees and the responsibilities of medical personnel working in detention facilities during war. The organisations behind the report are seeking international scrutiny, access to detainees and action to address the allegations.
