Themes by tag: prisoners

Myroslav Chornomor is a choreographer by profession who danced and toured abroad with a folk ensemble. In 2016, he received his draft notice, and after completing his mandatory military service, he signed a contract. He then mastered the profession of scout.

Myroslav enrolled at Ostroh Academy to study national security, then at the Security Service of Ukraine Academy, and in June 2022, he was to receive two diplomas.

The soldier met the start of the full-scale invasion at his position near Mariupol as commander of the reconnaissance unit of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade. On April 12, Myroslav, along with his comrades who were defending Azovmash, decided to surrender. For the next two years, the soldier’s family did not know where he was or what had happened to him.

The Ukrainian soldier was one of those whom the russian occupiers illegally sentenced to life imprisonment on fabricated charges of alleged crimes against civilians in Mariupol. In the russian colony where he was serving his sentence, his cellmates included a serial killer, and the cell next door held the perpetrator of the Beslan terrorist attack. Myroslav was returned to Ukraine during a prisoner exchange on February 5, 2026. The soldier plans to seek medical treatment, see his father, who is serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and resume his studies to obtain his diplomas.

Journalists can speak with Myroslav Chornomor online or in person near Kyiv from March 20, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

To remind people about the defenders of Azovstal and other military personnel who are still in enemy captivity, peaceful events are planned in 28 cities.

On March 7, events will take place in Okhtyrka, Chernihiv, Shpola, Volochysk, Zaporizhzhia, Pavlohrad, Lviv, and Dnipro.

On March 8, events are planned in Kyiv, Krolevets, Pivdennoukrainsk, Mykolaiv, Korop, Obukhiv, Ovruch, Korosten, Kharkiv, Kremenchuk, Dolynska, Kovel, Cherkasy, Lozova, Poltava, Uzhhorod, Berdychiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Rivne, and Odesa.

The events are organized by the families of prisoners of war from the Mariupol garrison. Ukrainians who have been released from captivity often join in the events.

• prisoners
• russian crimes

Nazarі Krasovsky signed a contract with the 12th Azov Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine in 2020. The soldier encountered a full-scale invasion in Mariupol, defended Azovstal, and, together with his comrades, carried out the command’s order and surrendered in May 2022.

Nazari spent 3.5 years in captivity. To keep himself going, the soldier wrote poems, scratched lines on a bar of soap, and when the opportunity arose, transferred the texts to scraps of paper. The man was returned home in August 2025 during a prisoner exchange.

Since then, Nazarі has been undergoing rehabilitation at the UNBROKEN center in Lviv. The soldier has a serious spinal injury, which he sustained while in captivity. The soldier said that he had long wanted to sing with Khristina Soloviy. During a gala evening organized by the rehabilitation center, Nazarі managed to fulfill this dream. On stage, they performed the song “Who, if not you?”, and the audience gave them a standing ovation.

You can speak with Nazari Krasovskyi both online and in person in Lviv or Kyiv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv
• Lviv

The NGO “Civilians in Captivity” invites the public to a peaceful action titled “We Are Not Waiting for Flowers — We Are Waiting for Our Own,” dedicated to supporting Ukrainian civilians who remain in captivity. The event will take place on March 7 in Kyiv.

The program includes speeches by government officials and civil society representatives, performances, a minute of silence, statistics on civilian detainees, and calls to action.

The purpose of the event is to draw public and governmental attention to the tragedy of civilian captivity and to demand urgent measures for the return of unlawfully detained Ukrainians.

• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Yuriy Shapovalov is 61 years old. He is a neurophysiologist from Donetsk with 30 years of experience. He was also the head of a local cactus club and had a large collection of these plants.

After the russian occupation began in 2014, Yuriy did not leave the city and, under the pseudonym “Zalyshenets Donetskyi,” reported on Twitter about how Donetsk was changing. In January 2018, when he was returning home from work, he was detained by security forces of the so-called “Ministry of State Security of the DPR.” Yuriy was accused of “spying” for Ukraine and ‘sentenced’ to 13 years in prison.

In particular, he spent 100 days in the “Izolyatsia” prison in occupied Donetsk, where he was beaten, intimidated, and tortured.

In total, he spent 7 years, 7 months, and 3 days in enemy captivity and was released on August 14, 2025, during a prisoner exchange.

By prior arrangement, journalists can talk to Yuriy in Kyiv.

• casualties
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On March 8, the Center for Civil Liberties will join the Women’s Rights March in Kyiv.

“We stand up for women who are currently serving on the front lines and fighting alongside men. Female military personnel must be provided with everything necessary for service and safety, have equal access to positions and opportunities, and be protected from discrimination, sexual harassment, and violence.

We stand up for women—military and civilian—who are in russian captivity. For those who are tortured, raped, starved, kept in complete isolation—without communication, without information, without the right to a voice,” say representatives of the Women’s March.

Violence against women in this war is a weapon that russia deliberately uses to humiliate, intimidate, destroy human dignity, and silence.

That is why the Center for Civil Liberties is marching with the following demands:

• to take immediate and systematic action to return women from russian captivity;
• to increase international pressure on the aggressor state;
• to provide full support for those who have returned — psychological, medical, social, and legal.

Women should not disappear behind prison walls, in statistics, or in public silence. Our task is to talk about them and together demand justice.

A separate set of demands of the March concerns legislative changes. These are drafts of the new Civil Code, which contain provisions that could narrow women’s rights and contradict the principle of equality.

• casualties
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Kyiv

The NGO “Civilians in Captivity” invites the public to a peaceful action titled “We Are Not Waiting for Flowers — We Are Waiting for Our Own,” dedicated to supporting Ukrainian civilians who remain in captivity. The event will take place on March 7 in Kyiv.

The program includes speeches by government officials and civil society representatives, performances, a minute of silence, statistics on civilian detainees, and calls to action.

The purpose of the event is to draw public and governmental attention to the tragedy of civilian captivity and to demand urgent measures for the return of unlawfully detained Ukrainians.

• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Dmytro Kanupier was serving in the 12th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov” in Mariupol when the full-scale invasion began. In April 2022, he sustained two shrapnel wounds. Together with his fellow soldiers, he defended the Azovstal steel plant.

Dmytro and his comrades discussed various possible outcomes of the battle in Mariupol, including suicide. Ultimately, in late May 2022, the fighters received orders to surrender and entered russian captivity.

Until September 26, 2022, Dmytro was held in a penal colony in Olenivka in the occupied part of Donetsk region. He was later transferred to Taganrog, russia. There, according to the serviceman, prisoners were subjected to severe beatings and torture in order to extract so-called “confessions” to fabricated crimes.

While in captivity, Dmytro was sentenced to 29 years in a high-security penal colony for a war crime he did not commit. He returned to Ukraine on October 18, 2024, as part of a prisoner exchange.

Since then, he has undergone rehabilitation, taken up sports, returned to service with Azov, and continues to speak publicly about captivity and those who remain imprisoned.

Interviews with Dmytro Kanupier are available online or in person by prior arrangement and coordination with the press service.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes

Participants:
Ihor Kotelyanets, head of the NGO “Association of Relatives of Kremlin Political Prisoners”;
Tetiana Maletska, clinical psychologist at the “Lisova Polyana” Center for Mental Health and Rehabilitation;
Azat Azatian, founder of a rehabilitation center in Zaporizhzhia, former political prisoner;
Yurii Shapovalov, released from unlawful imprisonment, representative of the NGO “29 December.”

Discussion topics:
– a real, rather than formal, rehabilitation system for people returning from unlawful detention;
– what state policy in the field of rehabilitation of released civilians should look like.

Background: Thousands of Ukrainians who have experienced unlawful imprisonment face new challenges after their release — from health problems and psychological consequences of torture to complex bureaucratic procedures. Activists have analyzed current legislation and its implementation and propose a vision for how state policy on the rehabilitation of released civilians should be structured, as well as specific decisions and steps that need to be taken immediately.

• casualties
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

To remind the public about the defenders of “Azovstal” and other service members who remain in enemy captivity, peaceful events are planned in 30 cities.

On February 21, rallies will take place in Svitlovodsk, Dnipro, Okhtyrka, Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Kovel, Shpola, Volochysk, Poltava, Zhytomyr, Pavlohrad, and Lviv.

On February 22, events are scheduled in Kyiv, Krolevets, Pivdennoukrainsk, Mykolaiv, Korop, Obukhiv, Ovruch, Kharkiv, Dolynska, Cherkasy, Lozova, Uzhhorod, Berdychiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Rivne, Chernivtsi, and Odesa.

The events are organized by the families of prisoners of war from the Mariupol garrison. Formerly captive Ukrainians who have been released from imprisonment also often take part in the rallies.

• prisoners
• russian crimes