Container with dental crowns found in torture chamber in Kharkiv Oblast; the occupiers could have stolen it

Diana Krechetova, Ukrainska Pravda.Zhyttia — THURSDAY, 6 OCTOBER 2022

On 5 October, information appeared that another torture chamber set by Russians had been found in the liberated village of Pisky-Radkivski in the Kharkiv region. There, plastic container with dental prostheses, yellow and silver crowns and the remains of teeth was found among the instruments of torture.

The photos were released by Serhii Bolvinov, the head of the investigative department of the National Police of Ukraine in Kharkiv Oblast, as well as the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.

On the same day, journalists from Bild, the German outlet, visited the liberated village, where they spoke with local 60-year-old dentist Serhii. The latter suggests that the dental crowns could have been stolen from his office. According to the man, he is the only dentist in the settlement.

Container with dental crowns found in torture chamber in Kharkiv Oblast
Photo: Serhii Bolvinov

"The teeth look like they were stolen from my office, [and] my house was looted by the Russians. These belonged to the people I treated all these years. I took out these teeth," the man said after seeing the photo of the container.

Commenting on the motives of the occupiers, Serhii stated that the occupiers could have stolen the dental crowns because they thought they were made of gold (in fact, they were made of stainless steel), and also to intimidate the captured Ukrainians.

"Neighbouring residents told me that the Russians allegedly intimidated people with this," the dentist told reporters.

As of the morning of 6 October, the dental prostheses were properly examined by specialists, packed and sent for molecular genetic examination, in accordance with the investigator's decision, Bolvinov said during a briefing.

"Simply put, [it was done] to identify the DNA profile and establish who exactly the remains of these teeth belong to," he added.

At the same time, the information provided to journalists by a local dentist is being checked.

"The publicly available information about the possible relationship of these teeth to the dentist is being checked. After the pre-trial investigation, detailed information will be provided," Bolvinov said.

He noted that the torture chamber in the village of Pisky-Radkivski is already the 22nd one found in the liberated part of Kharkiv Oblast.

In addition to the container with dental crowns, the law enforcement officers also found following items in the basement of the brick building where the torture chamber of Russians was located:

• plastic and rag ropes, likely used to tie hands or feet;

• a dildo;

• jackets similar to the uniforms worn by the Ukrainian army;

• a sheet of paper and draft notes with testimonies by prisoners of war;

• a phone;

• gauze with a brown substance similar to blood;

• badge of a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;

• a gas mask that the occupiers could use for torture;

• cigarette butts;

• 16 hand traces.

Photo: Serhii Bolvinov

"In this basement, Russian servicemen would keep civilians and prisoners of war and tortured them. We have witnesses who said that they heard a number of screams and pleas from the territory of this household – pleas for help, [pleas] to be released; sometimes people would ask to let them go to the toilet. Sometimes, after such screams, local residents heard burst fire, after which the screams would stop," said the head of the investigative department of the National Police in Kharkiv Oblast.

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