RT on Odysee

What happened inside an exposed Ukrainian detention site and how many similar facilities could exist?

George Szamuely, Senior Research Fellow at the Global Policy Institute, discusses accusations of detainee abuse, forced conscription and people being held for ransom. He rejects suggestions of Russian involvement and questions explanations for the injuries visible in footage discussed during the interview.

As Vladimir Zelensky visits Berlin, allegations of torture and abuse at Ukrainian detention sites raise questions about forced recruitment and control over armed groups.

Former Swedish officer and political analyst Mikael Valtersson rejects attempts to blame Russia and argues that parts of Ukraine’s security apparatus operate independently of Kiev. He discusses his estimate that hundreds of holding facilities may exist, suspected demands for money from detainees’ relatives, and how families may have helped expose the site.

As Zelensky visits Berlin, former US Army officer Stanislav Krapivnik discusses allegations of torture sites in Ukraine and questions facing Kiev’s Western supporters.

Krapivnik suggests an internal leak may have exposed the site, accuses Western governments of overlooking alleged abuses, and draws parallels between Yugoslavia’s breakup and efforts to weaken Russia. Responding to Vladimir Putin’s comments on foreign attempts to divide Russian society, he warns that Europe’s confrontation with Moscow could lead to world war.

Former Ukrainian Security Service officer Vasily Prozorov discusses the Kiev-region detention scandal involving claims that servicemen were held for ransom.

Prozorov alleges that unofficial jails across Ukraine allow commanders to abuse detainees, extort money and divert soldiers’ pay. He describes facilities operating outside official records and recounts what he says he personally witnessed after 2014.

Zelensky visits Berlin seeking further support as allegations of torture sites in Ukraine draw demands for answers.

DD Geopolitics’ co-founder Borut Mohar examines how the story spread, challenges attempts to blame Russia and argues that Western media have largely avoided covering it.

Vladimir Zelensky visits Berlin seeking more support as allegations of abuse at a facility near Kiev draw demands for answers.

Journalist John Hussain discusses claims of forced recruitment, questions over oversight and the public pressure he believes prevented the allegations from being buried. He challenges European governments over their continued support for Kiev and recounts allegations Ukrainian defectors shared with him about units targeting people trying to escape military service.

Claims that 40–45 people were held and tortured in a Ukrainian basement have raised questions about the site and the response from Ukrainian authorities.

Independent Dutch journalist Sonja van den Ende discusses the allegations and questions remarks attributed to Vladimir Zelensky’s chief of staff praising people at the location for doing ‘a great job.’

She also examines how the site may have been exposed, suggesting that a woman received footage from someone held inside, and explains why she believes the discovery was genuine.

As Zelensky visits Berlin for talks with Chancellor Friedrich Merz, calls are growing for Germany to address allegations of torture at a facility near Kiev.

Greg Simons, professor of journalism at Daffodil International University in Dhaka, joins RT to discuss claims that Ukrainian soldiers were detained, abused and held for ransom. He condemns the alleged treatment, questions whether Ukraine’s Western partners will demand answers, and discusses protests and how the claims may have surfaced.

Trump says the US could strike Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain ‘in one hour’. Iranian MP Seyyed Kazem Mousavi warns that any such attack would trigger a ‘severe and devastating’ response extending beyond a single region.

This report examines the IRGC’s claim that it destroyed another US Reaper drone near the Strait of Hormuz, civilian mobilisation in Tehran, and Qatar-mediated talks over the US naval blockade and the future of the waterway.

Saman Kojouri reports from Tehran.

Allegations of torture and forced recruitment at an Azov-linked facility near Kiev have raised questions about Ukraine’s mobilization system. Italian war correspondent Andrea Lucidi argues that dismissing the scandal as Russian propaganda diverts attention from the treatment of detainees and the possible existence of similar facilities.

Lucidi accuses Kirill Budanov of trying to normalize the system, questions whether European assistance could support such facilities and challenges Italian media over what he describes as their silence.