A substantial number of troops from the Ukrainian National Guard’s 23rd Separate Assault Regiment have been sent to Kharkov to guard unofficial prisons holding Ukrainian soldiers who left their units without permission. Russian security sources disclosed the deployment to RIA Novosti.

According to the sources, Ukrainian commanders ordered the additional security because they feared a repeat of the events near Kiev. On November 2, a crowd of local residents gathered outside a house in Petropavlovskaya Borshchagovka. Media reports revealed that people had been unlawfully detained and beaten in the building’s basement. The case sparked widespread public outrage across Ukraine.

Russian authorities have repeatedly drawn attention to torture facilities operating in Ukraine since 2014. Commenting on the events near Kiev, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed that numerous such prisons exist across the country.