A Prisoner and a Doctor Nicknamed Konoval: The Torturers of Ukrainian Prisoners of War in the Vladimir Region have been Identified

In Ukraine, the identities of two more Russian war criminals have been established; they tortured Ukrainian prisoners of war at Penal Colony No. 7 in the village of Pakino, Vladimir region, Russian Federation.

The identification was carried out with the assistance of the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense, the leadership of the Office of the Prosecutor General, the National Police, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), and journalists from the “Schemes” project.

The individuals involved in the case are Vyacheslav Cherdantsev, an employee of Medical Unit No. 33, nicknamed Konoval, and Yaroslav Kirilov, an inmate at Russian Penal Colony No. 7.

Since October 2022, these individuals have systematically tortured Ukrainian prisoners of war, committed acts of sexual violence against them, and humiliated their human dignity.

The investigation established that the administration of the Russian penal colony created an entire system of cruel treatment of prisoners, involving both staff and inmates in it.

The purpose of the regular abuse and psychological terror was to break the will of the Ukrainians, force them to accept Russian citizenship, and extract false confessions.

As part of the investigation, law enforcement officers documented instances of beatings with sticks, the use of stun guns, and a case of rape of a prisoner of war with a foreign object.

In addition to beatings, the prison’s doctor, Cherdantsev, drew images of genitalia on the bodies and faces of the prisoners using a “green paint” solution and instructed guards to torture the prisoners.

Another prisoner had a fingernail torn out without any pain relief, and sick prisoners were given mass injections of unknown drugs that caused severe pain.

In addition, the facility’s administration deliberately kept naked patients suffering from scabies together with healthy prisoners of war in cold rooms, completely denying them medical care.

The involvement of the convicted Kirilov in acts of torture at the orders of prison guards demonstrates the use of the Soviet “press-house” model, inherited by the modern Russian system from the NKVD and the Gulag.

The documented cases of torture and sexual violence constitute gross violations of the Geneva Conventions and qualify as war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.