Women's testimony of batons on the mouth and genitals

They unjustly detain women, strip them naked and beat them. They give electric shocks to their genitals, use even the cries of their families to corner their spirits, and completely destroy their bodies and minds.

In the occupied territories of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia, such systematic torture is said to continue.

Kidnapping and torture of unarmed civilians, especially women who are difficult to resist, is a grave violation of international law, including the Geneva Conventions.

This time, I interviewed women who survived the camps that literally turned into hell and heard about their unimaginable experiences. (Journalist Rei Shiba)

A facility where artists gathered was turned into a "torture center"

Izoryatsiya, a notorious camp in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine.

The ruins of a factory that was once a cultural center where artists gathered have been transformed into a torture center that destroys humanity.

Since the 2014 Donbass War by the Russian military and its proxies and the full-scale invasion that began in 2022, many women from occupied territories have been taken to the camp.

In May 2025, Nomo Sestri! was founded by former detainee Lyudmila Huseinova to support women with deep physical and mental wounds. It means Come, sisters! in Ukrainian (* 1).

The organization runs a rehabilitation facility in the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv, where I visited in May this year and spoke with women who survived the camp.

● Testimony of women who survived "stripping off clothes and naked"

"It was a really scary place over there. There were no female guards, only male guards."

Svitlana Holovan, 37, who was held in Izolyaziya camp and other camps for six years from 2019 and released in a prisoner exchange, looks back.

"They grabbed us by the neck and dragged us violently, saying, 'Take us to the shower,' and the treatment we received... I don't know how to put it."

Svitrana choked up her words.

"The guards stripped the women of their clothes, stripped them naked, put bags over their heads, and raped them. It was a matter of course for them."

Yulia Dvornichenko, 43, was detained for two years from 2021.

"How can young men, some 20 years old or so, stick batons into the mouth, genitals, anus, and every 'hole' of a woman of their mother's age?"

When Zaitseva Elena Vasilievna, 55, muttered, the place fell silent.

● Electric shock to the genitals, "espionage suspicion" was made up

According to the women, many were detained on charges they did not know about.

"In my case, it was' espionage charges'. Of course, I'm not a spy, but I can make up nonexistent charges."

Svitlana says so.

Ms. Zaitseva said, "We got a reward for each person we caught. The more we sent them to the camp, the more profitable they were. There was a promotion," and Yulia nodded.

In the camp, torture was repeated to extort false confessions.

"They connected a cord from an old-fashioned field telephone called a 'tapiki' and gave us electric shocks," Yulia said.

"How can they go home and say 'I love you' to their wives after giving an electric shock to a woman's genitals? I have no idea," says Yulia.

Svitlana also testified that she was tortured by suffocating.

"They put a bag over my head and wrapped my neck with tape so I couldn't breathe. I made a small hole in the bag with my nails, so I managed to breathe."

It is said that even when moving from camp to camp, pain was continued.

"When I was moving around the camp for interrogation, the guards always grabbed me with the force of breaking my neck and made me bow my head. I was handcuffed in both hands and forced to take a position called 'lastochka' (swallow), which is very painful, but if I didn't do that, I would be hit on the floor and kicked violently."

I was repeatedly overheard my daughter crying, "Give me back my mother."

Torture was not just about hurting the body.

Svitlana said she was subjected to mental torture using the voice of her young daughter.

"They were recording my little daughter crying out, 'Give me back my mother.' They were repeatedly heard, and they were cornered to the point of mental breakdown."

The same method was also used by other women.

Yulia also sighed, "I heard firsthand that my husband, who was caught with me, was violently beaten and screaming. To hear that a loved one is being hurt is torture in itself."

Professional training in torture, with places to bury victims on site

The women testified that such violence was being carried out systematically.

During the interrogation, they shamelessly told us that they had received professional education on how to hurt and torture women, Yulia said.

In addition, some people lost their lives in the camp.

On the camp grounds, there was even a place to bury victims who had died because they had to endure severe torture and abuse, Yulia said.

Appeals by survivors who say "many are still detained"

The women interviewed this time were released in a prisoner exchange.

However, many civilians are still detained in the occupied areas.

"There are still many women who have not been released." "In the areas occupied by Russia, women are still being detained one after another. In fact, the situation may be worse than before."

"The detention and torture of women is genocide [2] and President Putin and other Russian military personnel should be held accountable," he said.

The actual number is unknown because the Russian side has not released information, but the Ukrainian authorities have identified at least about 16,000 civilians detained by the Russian side. In fact, it is pointed out that there may be even more.

The international community is required to demand the immediate release of civilians from the Russian side, to clarify the actual situation of torture and sexual violence, and to pursue accountability.

(* 1) Facebook page of the organization (* 2) Genocide refers to killings and other human rights violations committed with the aim of destroying all or part of a group such as a nation or an ethnic group. It is considered the most serious crime under international law, and it is the obligation of the international community to prevent and pursue responsibility for it.

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