On January 21, 2026, the Pavlohrad City District Court in Dnipro Region sentenced Yuriy Ogurtsov, who worked for the so-called "Ministry of State Security of the DPR" in the occupied Donetsk Region, for torturing civilians at the Izolyatsia prison.

Background on the defendant

Yuriy Vasilyevich Ogurtsov, born in 1982 in the village of Sharypivka, Buda-Koshelevsky district, Gomel region (Belarus), is a Ukrainian citizen who lived in Donetsk. By November 2015, he had voluntarily joined the so-called "MGB of the DPR," where he served as a senior operative. Ogurtsov was later promoted to the rank of major and provided with a Russian-style camouflage uniform, a Kalashnikov rifle, and a pistol. Investigators report that his call sign was "Volcano."

Circumstances of the crimes

Since November 2015, Ogurtsov acted as a member of the DPR MGB, a terrorist organization under Russian control. His activities included persecuting captured Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel, torturing civilians using physical and psychological methods, and conducting "investigative actions" in illegal detention centers.

The court verdict details several cases in which Ogurtsov was directly involved:

First Victim: On June 11, 2016, an unidentified Ukrainian citizen was abducted in Horlivka and taken to the DPR MGB base on the former Izolyatsia PrJSC site. On June 12, Ogurtsov personally tortured the victim, hitting him in the head with a gun and striking his chest and legs to force confessions of anti-DPR activities. In his presence, other MGB officers also administered electric shocks. The victim remained in captivity until December 2019, when he was exchanged.

Second Victim: Detained on September 3, 2016, in Yasynuvata, the man was blindfolded and handcuffed, threatened with firearms, and taken to the MGB DPR building on Pushkin Boulevard. From September 3, 2016, to March 1, 2018, he was systematically tortured, including beatings, suffocation with a plastic bag, and extraction of teeth with pliers. Ogurtsov personally conducted violent interrogations. The victim later died in December 2021.

Third Victim: A woman testified that she was detained at a DPR checkpoint in November 2014 and taken to MGB premises. She was tortured for a day to force a confession of transporting explosives. In March 2015, Ogurtsov was present when she was subjected to electric shocks, beaten with a book and a water bottle, and psychologically pressured.

The trial was held in absentia, as Ogurtsov remains in the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk. He has been wanted since February 9, 2022. According to intelligence, he continues to work in the FSB department of the DPR and participates in the ongoing armed aggression against Ukraine.

The defense argued for acquittal, claiming there was no proof of voluntariness in Ogurtsov’s joining the MGB of the DPR. The court, however, deemed all evidence admissible and reliable.

Verdict

Ogurtsov was found guilty under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:

• Participation in a terrorist organization (Part 1, Article 258-3) – 10 years in prison with confiscation of property
• Cruel treatment of civilians (Part 1, Article 438) – 12 years in prison

The court ordered a final sentence of 12 years' imprisonment, with confiscation of all the defendant's property. The sentence will take effect upon Ogurtsov’s detention pursuant to this verdict.

Criminal proceedings were entered into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations under No. 22022050000000030 dated January 31, 2022.