Knife barons of the Kryvyi Rih area: the leadership of the correctional colony organized an underground production of a-la cold weapons

However, it is highly unlikely that Oleksandr Bubenyts will take his guests to the two underground workshops where the production of combat-style knives is in full swing. Because under current legislation, the manufacture of such products within the walls of places of deprivation of liberty is prohibited.

But if the employees of the State Bureau of Investigation or the police of the Strategic Investigations Department decided to also visit such an excursion – with searches and accompanied by special forces – they should know where to look for those knives.

According to our sources, one of the workshops is located on the territory of the bath-laundry complex. Right behind the black gates, to the left, in an abandoned-looking building, knife production has been set up.

In the same building, further left, there is a sewing (shoe) workshop intended for mending the employees' clothes and shoes. It is here that knife sheaths are sewn.

The production in the second workshop is also on a conveyor.

It is located in a neighboring building on the territory of the industrial zone. This is the so-called RIC zone.

Climbing up the stairs to the second floor, you will find yourself at the second production site in room No. 17.

This photo was taken at the entrance.

Here stand at least five machines, and the production is round-the-clock.

And in these photos, you can see the machines and the knife blanks themselves.

All finished products, as well as the blanks, are securely hidden from prying eyes in case of inspections. In the style of criminal Hollywood thrillers, a stash has been arranged in this workshop.

In this photo, you can see the blue doors – the entrance to two secret rooms. Nearby is a metal cabinet on wheels. This cabinet stands on rails and is pushed to the entrance to disguise the secret rooms where the manufactured knives are hidden.

In the first workshop at the bath-laundry complex, there are no stashes, as inspections do not go there because they are told that nothing is operational. And looking at the old, battered wooden doors, and the various junk and old mattresses piled up at the entrance to the building, one can understand the inspectors.

The production of combat-style knives is, of course, unofficial and does not appear in the colony's documentation.

In response to our inquiry, Oleksandr Bubenyts writes that the facts of knife production on the territory of Kryvorizhskaya Correctional Colony No. 80 have no confirmation.

Well, that’s what he claims, as we certainly did not send him the published photos.

So it is interesting how the head of the colony will explain this production after the photos are made public?

Perhaps he will say that it is souvenir products? Or children's toys?

Although the knives in the photos do not resemble innocent toys at all.

They are made in the style of hunting knives Rambo, and also resemble military knives of the type Storm – Olive or survival knives Survival.

Moreover, the handle of the knife gives grounds to assert its combat orientation. After all, hunting knives are not made with such handles, and it is made like a knife with claims for combat use.

Of course, it is difficult to classify these knives as cold weapons based on the photograph, as such a conclusion can only be given by an official forensic examination of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.

However, visually, the knives manufactured in the colony have several distinctly expressed features that make it highly likely they can be classified as cold weapons.

According to the current "Methodology for Forensic Examination of Cold Weapons" in Ukraine, a knife is considered cold weapon only if all technical and design criteria are simultaneously present.

And based on visual characteristics, these knives are under suspicion:

1. Presence of a developed guard (double-sided limiter): The photo clearly shows a metal stop between the handle and the blade.

If it protrudes above the handle on at least one side by 5 mm or more (which is the case with these knives), it provides a safe and strong piercing strike, which is an important feature of a weapon.

2. Blade length: Visually, against the background of the mat, the length of the blade clearly exceeds the maximum 90 mm.

As can be judged from the photo, the blade length is 180 mm.

And the knife itself measures 300 mm.

3. Blade shape and sharpening: The knife has a clear tip, a slanted spine ("pike"), and a saw on the spine. Such geometry is designed for piercing and cutting actions.

When reading the post from the South-Eastern Interregional Department for the Execution of Criminal Penalties of the Ministry of Justice about the appointment of Oleksandr Bubenyts as the head of Kryvorizhskaya Correctional Colony No. 80 – the informational message is striking:

— This is the start of a new stage in the development of the colony, new opportunities, new energy, and a new vision for the future.

However, the future of the colony was seen by a number of employees of this institution, well, not at all in establishing underground mass production of combat-style knives on the territory of the institution. 

Taras Zozulinskyy

10.09.2026