"Doctor", lawyer, man with a camera and several strong guys. In Petropavlivska Borshchahivka, Russian special services took advantage of a specific Ukrainian wartime business

On the afternoon of November 2, videos and statements began circulating on social media claiming that in the village of Petropavlivska Borshchahivka in Kyiv region, armed people were allegedly holding about 40 individuals in the basement of a private house, and one of them had died. The word "torture chamber" was mentioned, as well as claims about a man with a broken spine. The main voice of this version was a woman in medical uniform, who streamed from an ambulance and spoke about a man who had been held for over a month after surgery.

After these reports, about a hundred people gathered near the house, demanding the release of those allegedly held there. The police reported that servicemen from one of the National Guard units were stationed there, and that information about illegal detention and death was false. The 1st Azov National Guard Corps added that this was a temporary deployment point for military unit 3121, where mobilized personnel and deserters, detained after unauthorized absence from the unit, were located.

However, this did not stop the people. The crowd broke down the fence and gates, destroyed police transport, and did not disperse even after the arrival of the Head of the President's Office Kyrylo Budanov and the Commander of the National Guard Oleksandr Pivnenko. When the soldiers began to be put into a bus, people rocked the vehicle and broke the windows, and the soldiers had to return – although this already posed a danger to them, as the location had become known to Russian missile operators.

The footage was striking: in Belarus, law enforcement officers opened fire on citizens in much less serious situations, people were given long prison sentences for symbolic kicks to law enforcement vehicles. Here, however, was an attack on military transport during martial law.

Павялічыць

Journalist Vasyl Pyakhno and Ukrainian Armed Forces Major, political scientist Andriy Tkachuk, undertook to find out what actually happened in a special broadcast on the YouTube channel "Tretya Svitova" (Third World). Pyakhno analyzed videos from the scene, media publications, and registry data. Tkachuk claims he was able to speak with three anonymous sources in law enforcement, the SBU, and the Azov Corps.

How it all began

Around 1 PM, Tkachuk says, a small, prepared group — about ten people with cameras, a " силовий блок" (power unit/enforcement team) and a lawyer — tried to enter the building. Online, the military was accused of holding people in a private house, but, the major emphasizes, the unit leases the building under a contract, so its status is equivalent to a military town.

Around 1:30 PM, the story about the "torture chamber" appeared on major Ukrainian Telegram channels. 17 minutes later, as OSINT analysts discovered, it exploded in the Russian segment of the network, where bots immediately joined in. Such speed may indicate that the plot was prepared in advance. Between 2 PM and 4 PM, the military contacted local and regional police but received no assistance.

In the evening, a woman in medical uniform went live on TikTok. This alone, Pyakhno ironically notes, looks strange: medics who arrive on a call usually don't livestream. The woman named the address, declared a "torture chamber" and knelt before police, asking them to "free" the "beaten guys." The woman was later identified as Valentyna Moloda. More about her below.

People began to gather at the house. Most of them, Pyakhno suggests, simply acted under the influence of emotions. They were the ones who overturned cars and threw stones at the military, among whom, as the investigators emphasize, were people who had survived Azovstal and Russian captivity.

One person inside

Why was all this necessary? Tkachuk says the answer must be sought inside the building. There, according to his information, was a man who had lived in occupied Donetsk since 2014, then moved to Ukrainian-controlled territory, was mobilized, left the unit, but was found and returned. He had a phone and transmitted information outside. His rescue, the major claims, was ordered by his mother, who lives in Donetsk.

He names as executors the so-called rapid response group, which helps men avoid service. This is a specific wartime business in Ukraine. Such a group usually includes a lawyer, a person with a camera, several strong guys, and someone for a public role.

The preparation, Tkachuk adds, is also evidenced by the fact that the driver of the car, who has no medical connection, spent three days scouting around the building. Here the hosts refer to Budanov's statement, who on the same day spoke about such reconnaissance.

Who is this woman?

The woman from the livestream is 49-year-old Valentyna Moloda. In the video, she called herself a doctor and the owner of the company "Med-prestige," but journalists found out that this service has not been operating since 2023, and the "ambulance" she arrived in was sold by the company's owner back in 2024. In fact, Moloda works in a plastic surgery clinic, and she also carried an investigator-journalist's ID.

Павялічыць

This is not Moloda's first high-profile action. As it turned out, back in 2020, she organized a rally in Lviv near the home of a director of a directing school, whom she accused of pedophilia, but these accusations were not confirmed. Lately, she has turned to politics: on TikTok, she called for "Maidan 2.0" and the resignation of the government, attended "for peace" rallies, and in October, as media write, tried to organize a protest with pro-Russian ties in Kyiv.

Next to Moloda in the video was a man in medical uniform, in whom journalists also found no medical education. Another broadcast was conducted by blogger Andriy Rachok, who claimed he came at the invitation of "medics." He is called an associate of Ostap Stakhov, a well-known opponent of mobilization.

Was there a torture chamber?

The main question remains: were people tortured in the building or not? Pyakhno searched the internet for evidence all day, but only found footage from an "ambulance" where three men were sitting. One had a bruise, another a wounded finger, and the third, allegedly with a broken spine as Moloda claimed, entered the car by himself.

Tkachuk recounts how everything happened based on the words of people from the building and the National Guard of Ukraine medical facility. The pseudo-medics demanded that they hand over the "broken guys," but "Azov" refused and called their own medics. Their vehicles were not allowed through, but they still examined the people and selected four for additional examination. The man who was presented as having a broken spine, according to the major, actually had an infected post-operative wound. Eventually, the four were sent to the National Guard hospital in the same "ambulance," but accompanied by National Guardsmen.

The bruise is not so clear. In one video, a mobilized man recounts that another man tried to strangle him and received a retaliatory blow, but Tkachuk admits he doesn't know where the bruise came from and doesn't rule out a blow during detention. The hosts do not deny that beatings occur in units and say that such cases should be handled by law enforcement and the ombudsman. But a bruise, in their opinion, does not yet make a place a torture chamber, especially since the person knew where he was brought and had a phone, even though it concerned a deserter.

The question remains why people are held in such a house at all. The hosts explain that servicemen who have voluntarily left their service are sought, detained, and returned to their unit, where it is decided where to send each one, as they cannot simply be discharged. Among them, they admit, are those who escape repeatedly or pose a danger to their own unit.

Interior Minister Ivan Vyhovsky calls the statements about a "torture chamber" and casualties fakes. According to him, the woman acted at the request of a relative of a person who had voluntarily left the unit. Deputy Head of the SBU Ivan Rudnytsky reported about a hundred identified active participants and called the crime planned.

Interior Minister Ivan Vyhovsky later stated that Valentyna Moloda, along with an accomplice, under the guise of an "ambulance" brigade, provided services for a fee to "free" mobilized men. She herself denies the accusations. On November 4, the court decided to take her into custody.

Павялічыць

Павялічыць

"In Kyiv, a court is being held for the 'Ambulance' doctor who freed mutilated people from the 'Azov' torture chamber in Kyiv," Russian channels wrote today, copying the exact same text.

The final word is not yet out. The origin of the injuries must be established by an investigation, the State Bureau of Investigation is investigating possible abuse of power by servicemen, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the military ombudsman are checking detention conditions. Russia's involvement in the action will also be verified.

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