When retreating from Kherson, the Russian army released 457 prisoners from a local detention center.
Ihor Klymenko, the head of the Ukrainian National Police, named this figure during a live teleconference. Klymenko says that 166 escaped prisoners have already been found and sent to detention facilities in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions.
The Ukrainian news agency Hromadske reports that prisoners escaped from the Kherson detention center when its administration evacuated from the city together with the Russian army. One of the employees supposedly opened up the gates of the facility.
The Russian news source Sirena has published a list of escaped prisoners. 124 people on that list have murder convictions; 11 had been convicted of rape.
Follow Meduza in English on Twitter to stay up to date.
Meduza survived 2024 thanks to its readers!
Let’s stick together for 2025.
The world is at a crossroads today, and quality journalism will help shape the decades to come. The real stories must be told at any cost. Please support Meduza by signing up for a recurring donation.