Introduction
"I have never heard such terrible screams before,"says Liudmyla, recalling her first days in the Izolyatsia detention centre.
This article contains accounts of torture and sexual violence.
Abduction and Detention
Early one October morning in 2019, a group of men jumped out of a car and seized Liudmyla Huseinova as she left her home. The 64-year-old recounts that they took her bag and forced her into the back seat, marking the beginning of what she describes as a
"nightmare"within Russia's secretive detention system operating in parts of Ukraine occupied since 2014:
"For three years and 13 days of my life, my soul and body were crippled."
Among the men was Yurii Temerbek, a Ukrainian former local traffic policeman who had joined Russian-backed separatists. Temerbek, now 56 and a husband, father, and grandfather, was present again two weeks later, witnessing a man with a Russian accent sexually assault Liudmyla in the notorious detention centre.
A BBC World Service investigation has identified Temerbek and uncovered details about two other men accused of abusing detainees, revealing a system largely beyond the reach of Ukrainian and international justice. These men appear to be living ordinary lives with their families in Russia and occupied Ukraine. Survivors view revealing their identities as a step towards accountability.
Liudmyla states,
"If the men I accuse of abuse aren't found and imprisoned, then, justice for me will be their names as criminals, and torturers, will be known to their children."
Systematic Torture and Detention Conditions
The prisons these men helped operate are part of a detention system where the UN's human rights office (OHCHR) reports that torture and ill-treatment of civilians is
"systematic and widespread."Former detainees describe beatings, electric shocks, mock executions, and sexual violence. Civilians are often detained arbitrarily with families receiving little information.
The Kremlin has accused the OHCHR of bias. In May 2024, the UN added Russia to its blacklist of countries suspected of committing sexual violence in conflict zones, allegations Russia dismissed as
"groundless lies."
Ukrainian authorities report more than 16,000 civilians have been taken captive or disappeared. Some cases followed Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, while others date back to 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and occupied parts of eastern Ukraine, drawing widespread international condemnation.
Liudmyla’s Background and Arrest
In 2014, Liudmyla was a safety engineer on a poultry farm in Novoazovsk, Donetsk region, near the Russian border. Russian-backed armed groups seized the city, initiating years of paramilitary control.
Under occupation, Liudmyla helped care for orphans and delivered food to Ukrainian forces, who gave her a Ukrainian flag with notes of thanks. She believes a photo of this flag, shared with trusted friends, reached Russian-backed forces, likely leading to her arrest.
She was accused of spying and taken to Izolyatsia — a factory-turned-modern art gallery seized by Russian-backed forces and later notorious for torture reports.
Upon arrival, she recalls being surrounded by men who pinched her body, with one remarking,
"It's not a peach. Not a dried apricot either. A raisin."
Detainees were forced to stand from 06:00 to 22:00 daily, with bright lights shining at night. Her first days were filled with distressing screams from other rooms:
"I have never heard such terrible screams before."
Sexual Assault and Identification of Perpetrators
Two weeks after arrival, Liudmyla was taken to the second floor, where a man known as "Koval" told her she was
"too old for boys who come for 'relaxation'."Temerbek was present,
"being sarcastic… laughing,"she says. Koval then sexually assaulted her.
Liudmyla knows Temerbek’s name because she saw it on a document and recognized him from his local role in the Ukrainian police. Ukrainian authorities accuse him of working for the Ministry of State Security (MGB) established by the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), created by Russian-backed paramilitaries.
Ukrainian prosecutors have opened criminal proceedings against Temerbek for involvement in a
"terrorist group,"a term used for collaborators with Russian-backed forces.
Investigation and Background of Temerbek
The BBC collaborated with Ukrainian open source investigators Bohdan Kosokhatko and Vladyslav Chyryk, building on work with the investigative organisation Truth Hounds. Using detainee testimony, social media, media reports, and Ukrainian prosecutor documents, they constructed a detailed profile.
Temerbek studied Ukrainian language at university and has a wife, daughter, son in their 20s, and a grandchild. They appear to live in the Rostov region of southwestern Russia near Ukraine’s border. A pre-2014 social media photo shows him in Ukrainian police uniform with a traffic policeman badge. It is unclear if he currently holds employment.
Liudmyla says Temerbek was among those who arrested her and that she last saw him in late 2021 when he called her
"bitch"and threatened to send her to Siberia.
The identity of "Koval" remains unknown.
Abuse by Other Guards
Another guard, referred to as "Yermak," once ordered Liudmyla to eat uncooked food mixed with soil and rubbish. She spat most of it out but recalls,
"The taste of this food will stay with me the rest of my life."She now finds the smell of cooking food unbearable and struggles to eat normally.
She never saw Yermak’s face because guards often placed a bag over her head, but she recognized his voice. On one occasion, he entered her cell and shouted,
"Are you for Ukraine?"to which she replied,
"I'm for justice."He then began beating her.
Identification of Yermak as Ruslan Yeriomichev
Liudmyla saw Yermak’s face for the first time when investigators located social media photos showing him with his wife, daughter, on family holidays, and socialising with friends, some as recent as 2024. He was identified as Ruslan Yeriomichev by investigative group Bellingcat and Ukrainian journalist Stanislav Aseyev, who was also detained at Izolyatsia. Yeriomichev is now 46.
His social media indicates he studied law at Donetsk National University. Ukrainian prosecutors accuse him of multiple crimes, including cruel treatment of prisoners of war and civilians. It is unclear if he still works at Izolyatsia, but posts suggest he remains in the area. Both Temerbek and Yeriomichev were Ukrainian nationals who later acquired Russian passports.
Liudmyla reflects on their freedom:
"They are free people, and they can go anywhere. They took years off the lives of so many people."
Release and Aftermath
Liudmyla was released in a prisoner exchange in October 2022. She was welcomed by friends who cried, but she says,
"I realised I couldn't cry, I had no tears."Even now, she says,
"These feelings, emotions, they are still frozen in me… sometimes I really want to cry and scream, but I can't."
She has reunited with her husband and now lives in Kyiv. She runs an organisation supporting women who have been detained and helps send parcels to those still captive via a secret network.
Scale of Detention Centres
The BBC mapped the network of detention centres by cross-referencing media, investigators, and human rights groups. They identified 93 sites holding civilians and prisoners of war in occupied Ukraine between 2023 and 2025. About one-third appear unofficial, located in buildings such as tax offices, hotels, and garages. Another 102 centres were identified in Russia. International organisations have not been granted free access.
Ukrainian prosecutors report that 2,000 people have passed through such centres since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
Testimony of Oleksii Sivak
One detainee, 42-year-old sailor Oleksii Sivak, was among hundreds arrested after Russia’s capture of Kherson in 2022, during what pro-Kremlin reports described as a crackdown on terrorists. Oleksii, who worked on cargo ships, helped cook for elderly people and made banners opposing Russian presence.
He was arrested and taken to a former police facility in Kherson where he reports torture, including electric shocks to the genitals:
"There was torture with objects. On the genitals, electric current."
In November 2022, Ukrainian forces retook Kherson. Russian-backed forces took some detainees when fleeing, but Oleksii escaped due to lack of space.
Investigation of Andrey Spivak
Ukrainian prosecutors say the Kherson detention facility was run by Andrey Spivak, a former policeman from Omsk, Russia, who worked in the Russian prison system. He is charged with cruel treatment of civilians and violations of the laws of war.
Investigators found Spivak is 40 years old and born in the Omsk region. Social media images depict him enjoying fishing, hunting, and travelling. Recent photos show him back in Omsk attending Russian interior ministry events. He has also registered a car as a taxi.
Responses and Legal Proceedings
The BBC attempted to contact Temerbek, Yeriomichev, and Spivak regarding the allegations, but they did not respond. The Russian Embassy in the UK stated that Russia
"consistently advocated respect for international law and the rule of law,"and that allegations of crimes during the Ukraine conflict
"are documented and investigated."
Ukrainian prosecutors have opened legal proceedings against dozens accused of mistreating Ukrainians in Russian-run prisons. A small number have been sentenced in absentia. The BBC is aware of only one individual imprisoned — a former head of Izolyatsia arrested in Kyiv in 2021 and sentenced to 15 years.
The Izolyatsia site remains operational, according to Ukraine's prosecutor general's office.
Since the 2022 invasion, the office has documented over 400 cases of conflict-related sexual violence against civilians. So far, 85 people have been charged, with 30 receiving prison sentences, mostly in absentia.
Conclusion
Both Oleksii and Liudmyla are committed to holding perpetrators accountable. Liudmyla states,
"For me, justice is not revenge. For me, justice is the decree that these people intentionally, deliberately did what they did. I want them to be punished by law."
Conflict in Ukraine, Human Rights Violations, War Crimes, Detention Centres, Sexual Violence in Conflict
