FALSE: Ukrainian authorities torture collaborators — The Guardian

Russian propagandists spread the news that the British media outlet The Guardian published an article about Russian collaborators convicted in Ukraine. Supposedly, it claims that the Ukrainian authorities torture and abuse prisoners.

This is false. The article describes the stories of individuals who voluntarily collaborated with the Russians, and there is no word about torture or abuse in it.

Using the keywords, we found the article in The Guardian that propagandists are referring to. It discusses six collaborators in Ukraine who cooperated with the Russian authorities and were sentenced for it.

The first collaborator mentioned by the propagandists is a man sentenced to 12 years in prison who refused to give his name. His cellmates carved the word “orc” (a derogatory term for Russian occupiers in Ukraine) on his forehead. This indicates that law enforcement, prison staff, and other government representatives are not involved in this incident.

The second figure in the material is Anyuta Holomb, a resident of the front-line town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, who was arrested in December 2022 along with her husband and sentenced to 15 years in prison for state treason. Propagandists fail to mention that her husband was previously imprisoned for collaborating with the so-called “DPR” authorities, and his father was killed during a Russian shelling. Additionally, neither the propagandist post nor The Guardian article indicates that the husband and wife actively sought contact with Russians, offered to be fire spotters, and from August to December, provided occupiers with information about the locations of ammunition depots and Ukrainian military equipment 12 times. Thus, the woman committed a deliberate crime under Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and received punishment according to the current Ukrainian legislation. There is no information about any torture or abuse of Anyuta Holomb in either The Guardian article or the material by Ukrainian journalists.

The third convicted individual is Kostiantyn Vanin, a teacher from Sloviansk. He was sentenced to 8 years in prison for providing the Russian army with data on the location of Ukrainian military forces in Sloviansk and adjusting rocket strikes on the city. The Guardian includes Vanin’s statement that he did not provide any data on the Ukrainian Armed Forces and admitted his guilt under pressure. Ukrainian journalist Volodymyr Zolkin published a conversation with Kostiantyn Vanin on November 28, 2023, where Vanin also denies his guilt and claims that he made a deal with Ukrainian intelligence services. The journalist doubts Vanin’s statement and mentions that necessary expert examinations have been conducted, which indicate Vanin’s guilt. Furthermore, Zolkin mentions the curious fact that Vanin was sentenced to 8 years in prison, a lengthy term of imprisonment that is uncharacteristic for someone who cooperates with the investigation. Vanin partially justifies Russia’s annexation of Crimea, supports the propaganda narrative about the civil war in Ukraine, and justifies the Russian invasion in Ukraine. The convicted never mentions any torture or abuse.

The fourth convicted individual is Oksana Kuzmych, who participated in organizing a pseudo-referendum in the Kherson region regarding its accession to Russia. This referendum was condemned by the UN General Assembly, and the only country that supported it was North Korea. The original article does not specify how Kuzmych assisted in conducting the referendum. Ukrainian journalists claim that the woman went around houses in the villages of Novooleksandrivka and Mykhailivka in the Beryslav district together with armed occupiers and ensured voting for the region’s accession to Russia. Kuzmych does not mention any torture in The Guardian article.

So, out of the six individuals convicted of collaborationism mentioned in The Guardian article, only one mentions an attack on him, but according to him, it was carried out not by representatives of the authorities, law enforcement officers, or prison staff, but by fellow inmates. Therefore, the article contains no information about torture or abuse committed by the Ukrainian authorities.