Under the procedural guidance of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, a new suspicion has been announced against an FSB officer of the Russian Federation, who tortured civilians in the premises of the seized local prosecutor's office during the occupation of the Kharkiv region. This concerns an employee of the 9th department of the operational information department of the 5th service of the FSB of the Russian Federation, known by the call sign "Mars-1," who is already involved in a court proceeding regarding other episodes of war crimes.

According to the investigation, during the occupation of the city of Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region, he participated in systematic persecutions of pro-Ukrainian citizens and the suppression of the resistance movement. Among the documented crimes are: prolonged illegal detention of civilians (up to 86 days), systematic torture, the use of electric shock, as well as filing down teeth with a file as one of the methods of physical and psychological pressure.

The investigation established that in May 2022, Russian soldiers broke into the home of a 51-year-old resident of Vovchansk, conducted a search, and forcibly took him to the building of the local prosecutor's office seized by the occupiers, where the man was interrogated by "Mars-1."

During the interrogation, he forced the victim to call his son, a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and convince him to refuse to serve. After the refusal, the suspect used physical violence, hitting the man’s head against the table, after which he was illegally detained in a basement.

Subsequently, the victim was forcibly taken to his son's place of residence, where the occupiers conducted a search, after which the man was released. As a result of the ordeal, he suffered psychological trauma.

The Russian special service officer has been notified of suspicion of cruel treatment of the civilian population, committed by a group of persons in conspiracy (part 2 of article 28, part 1 of article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

“At the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, the suspect was sent to the occupied city of Vovchansk, where, under the direction of the leadership, he was to suppress the resistance movement and conduct 'preventive measures' against pro-Ukrainian citizens. This was a deliberate policy of the enemy and torture of our people. We are carefully establishing all the facts, and crimes against civilians will not go unanswered,” emphasized Spartak Borysenko, head of the department for combating crimes committed in the context of armed conflict at the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office.

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by investigators of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police in the Kharkiv region with operational support from the employees of the Main Department of the National Police in the Kharkiv region.

According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a guilty verdict of the court.

We remind you that on January 13, 2026, prosecutors of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office secured life imprisonment for Russian prisoner of war Serhiy Tuzhilov, involved in the execution of Ukrainian defenders. Overall, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, prosecutors in Kharkiv have proven the guilt of 28 occupiers, resulting in 19 convictions.