Russia plans new prison complex in occupied Kherson Oblast among wider prison expansion

Russian authorities have announced plans to construct a new large-scale prison complex in the occupied Kherson Oblast, as part of a broader program to build seven such facilities across Russia and occupied Ukraine by 2035, according to a report from The Moscow Times on September 16. The new facilities will consolidate pretrial detention centers with penal colonies of varying security levels and will have a combined capacity of over 20,000 individuals, with 5,380 designated for pretrial detainees and 15,120 for those serving sentences.

Apart from Kherson Oblast, Russia intends to build these complexes in Kaluga, Astrakhan, Tyumen oblasts, Buryatia, and Zabaykalsky Krai, with the first facility slated to open in Tatarstan by 2030. Each facility is projected to cost between 13 billion and 20 billion rubles, approximately $154 million to $237 million. Russian Justice Ministry estimates suggest that consolidating detention centers and penal colonies in these complexes could reduce incarceration costs by 25-30%, potentially making the projects self-sustaining within approximately a decade.

Justice Minister Konstantin Chuychenko highlighted that the new facilities would employ modern engineering and IT systems, enhance working conditions for prison staff, and provide inmates with improved access to work, education, and medical services. These construction plans coincide with Russia's ongoing expansion of its detention infrastructure in occupied Ukrainian territories.

An investigation by the Kyiv Independent revealed that two new pretrial detention centers in occupied Crimea were utilized unlawfully to detain Ukrainian civilians, who were held for months without formal charges, access to legal counsel, or communication with their families. Reports of beatings, electric shocks, denial of medical care, and other forms of abuse were also documented.

Some of these facilities are directly controlled by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), while others are managed by the Federal Penitentiary Service. Additionally, Russia has been using occupied Crimea as a hub for detaining civilians seized from occupied Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts since the onset of the full-scale invasion.

Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, estimates that Russia unlawfully holds around 16,000 Ukrainian civilians in approximately 200 detention sites across Russia and occupied Ukrainian regions, with only a few hundred people having been released.