Russia to build massive prison complex in occupied Kherson as part of nationwide expansion

Russian authorities have outlined a plan to build a large-scale prison complex in the Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast, joining a government program that targets seven similar facilities across Russia and occupied parts of Ukraine by 2035. Each complex will hold more than 20,000 people, split between 5,380 pre-trial detention spots and 15,120 for sentenced inmates. Additional sites are slated for Kaluga, Astrakhan, Tyumen, Buryatia and Zabaykalsky Krai, with the first opening in Tatarstan by 2030, each costing between 13 billion and 20 billion rubles.

Justice Minister Konstantin Chuychenko highlighted the use of modern engineering, IT systems, and improved conditions for staff and inmates, claiming the integrated model could lower holding costs by 25-30 percent and become self-financing within a decade. The move comes amid evidence that Russia has expanded detention infrastructure in occupied Ukrainian territories, where civilians have been held without charge or legal counsel and subjected to abuse. Ukraine’s human-rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets estimates roughly 16,000 civilians are detained in about 200 sites across Russia and occupied regions, with only a few hundred released.