The SBU Office in the Kherson region has identified two Ukrainian citizens who, together with Russian military personnel, tortured civilians in the basement of a seized building in the city center.

What is known about the suspects

Anatoliy Mykolayovych Romanchuk (born September 16, 1976), a native of Donetsk, served as head of the “Special Operations Department A” of the so-called “State Security Service of Kherson Region” (DSB), an occupation body created by the Russians in the image of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

Serhii Leonidovych Kobrin (born December 7, 1983), a native of the village of Mali Kopani in Skadovsk district, Kherson region, worked as a senior operative of the Skadovsk interdistrict department of the same occupation structure.

Circumstances of the crime

In the spring of 2022, individuals from among former Ukrainian security officers and members of Russian armed groups established a pseudo security service in the occupied territory — the “State Security Service of Kherson Region.” Its headquarters were located in a seized building at 18 Teatralna Street in Kherson. Nearby, at 15 Pylyp Orlyk Street, a basement was оборудed as an illegal detention site, with access between the two buildings through a gap in the fence.

The body’s purpose was to identify and persecute residents who did not accept the occupation — activists, opponents of the occupation authorities, and people with any ties to Ukrainian institutions.

• The first victim — July 2022

On July 6, 2022, at approximately 6 a.m., at least 18 armed Russian servicemen arrived at the home of a civilian resident of Kherson. After conducting a search and using physical force, they detained him, placed a plastic bag over his head, and took him to the basement on Pylyp Orlyk Street, where he was held until August 14.

Immediately after being brought in, the man was interrogated by Kobrin, a serviceman with the call sign “Ural,” and other Russian soldiers. They demanded information about his phone contacts and alleged links to the SBU. When he refused to provide answers, they beat and kicked him, then staged a mock execution by placing a gun to his head and pulling the trigger.

Later, Romanchuk and another soldier entered the cell. They attached wires to the detainee’s fingers and administered electric shocks at least three times, each lasting about three minutes. Romanchuk interrogated him about alleged weapons caches and “guerrilla groups.” When the responses did not satisfy them, they continued torturing him with electricity. Between the shocks, one of the soldiers struck the victim at least ten times on the body, causing him to lose consciousness. To revive him, Romanchuk hit him in the chest with the butt of his assault rifle.

On the same day, Romanchuk and another soldier threatened the victim with rape and attempted to force him to remove his clothes. When he resisted, they kicked him at least twenty times in the legs and torso.

Throughout his detention, he was kept chained to a radiator in a windowless basement cell with no natural light, bed, or mattress, forced to lie on a concrete floor. He was given food and water once a day or less. He was not allowed to use a toilet and had to relieve himself in the cell. He was constantly threatened with death and further torture.

On August 14, 2022, the victim was taken out and left on the street without any documents explaining the grounds for his detention.

• The second victim - September 2022

On September 3, 2022, four armed soldiers detained another Kherson civilian at home, put a T-shirt on his head, and took him to the same basement on Pylyp Orlyk Street. This time, the man was accused of "launching rocket attacks on the Russian military".

30 minutes after the delivery, two unidentified soldiers conducted the first session of electric shock torture through wires attached to his fingers, which lasted about 30 minutes. Later, Romanchuk personally escorted the victim to the interrogation room, ordered him to lie on the floor, and applied electric shocks at least four times. In between the shocks, he inflicted at least five kicks to the torso and one to the head.

The conditions of detention were identical to the first case: a basement without light, without a bed, without a toilet, minimal food, and constant threats. On October 22, 2022, the victim was taken out of town and left on the side of the road with a bag on his head.

Suspicion

Romanchuk and Kobrin were notified of suspicion of cruel treatment of civilians - torture, inhuman treatment, threat of sexual violence and illegal deprivation of liberty of civilians - under Article 438, part 1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Their actions constitute a violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons and Additional Protocol I and qualify as war crimes under international humanitarian law.