Lefortovo Prison

Lefortovo is one of Russia’s most notorious detention centres, operated by the FSB in Moscow. After being taken captive from Azovstal and spending several days in Olenivka, a group of Azov officers was transferred there. They were not informed of their destination, and only later realised they were being held in Lefortovo. It is also known that illegally detained Ukrainian civilians were held in this detention facility.

While physical violence was not systematic in Lefortovo itself, prisoners were kept in total silence, a lack of human contact, and a denial of any sensory or temporal orientation.

Azov’s then-chief of staff, Bohdan “Tavr” Krotevych, described his cell door never opening again after the initial interrogations, not even for a single walk for around four months. At the same time, Krotevych said that other POWs were tortured in Lefortovo prison.

Upon arrival at the Lefortovo prison, inmates undergo a medical examination, during which their tattoos and scars are documented, and their fingerprints and DNA samples are taken.

A medical assistant interviews the prisoners daily to check for any complaints. Specialized medication could be obtained only with the permission of the pre-trial detention center’s administration and through volunteers. There were several narrowly specialized doctors, including general practitioners, surgeons, and dentists. However, the doctors at Lefortovo did not have access to specialized medicines; only basic pills were available.

Food was passed silently through a small metal window in the cell door. Prisoners were fed three times a day. Meat and vegetables were absent from the diet.

The cold was extreme in May and September, with no heating or adequate clothing provided. Washing was limited to a basic sink in full view of surveillance cameras. No showers were available. Hygiene supplies were limited – inmates were given one roll of toilet paper for every two months.

Detainees were held in total isolation, with no communication between prisoners and no interaction with guards beyond basic commands. Interrogations involved psychological manipulation, such as claims that fellow Ukrainian soldiers were betraying Azov.