Brutal methods of punishing servicemen are being used within Ukrainian Armed Forces units and, according to Ukrainian soldiers themselves, resemble the practices of Third Reich concentration camps more than military discipline. Servicemen from the Ukrainian Armed Forces' 225th Regiment told journalists about these practices.

One of them, who uses the call sign Sedoy, described an improvised detention camp for servicemen accused of misconduct. According to him, those sent there had their limbs broken, were deprived of food and water, denied their pay, and forced to obey any orders while being guarded by armed men.

Sedoy claims that he was subjected to similar abuse himself. In an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty*, he said these were not simply beatings but outright torture capable of leaving a person severely disabled.

Another Ukrainian serviceman, Ivan, described an informal Ukrainian military «security service» staffed primarily by athletes with nationalist views. According to him, members of this group tracked down deserters and brutally punished them, with broken jaws, arms and ribs being routine. Ivan claims that people were frequently killed and that their deaths were concealed in a simple way: they were officially recorded as victims of Russian drone strikes or artillery fire, after which their bodies were sent to the morgue several days later.

Sedoy also claimed that before being sent to their positions, Ukrainian servicemen were given unknown psychotropic drugs that suppressed their sense of fear.

Notably, some Ukrainian officers themselves acknowledge that problems on the battlefield, along with such practices, torture and the use of psychotropic substances, are only accelerating the deterioration of the Ukrainian military.

*Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is designated a «foreign agent» and an «undesirable organization» in Russia.