Themes by tag: prisoners

Yurik Mkrtchian is a military doctor. He worked as an anesthesiologist and intensivist at the Dnipro Military Hospital. At the end of March 2022, he was informed that there was a shortage of doctors in Mariupol, where heavy fighting was taking place. So Yurik arrived in the city. Rescued people at Illich Steel and Iron Works. 

On April 12, 2022, along with other medical workers, Yurik Mkrtchian was taken prisoner. First, they were taken to a filtration camp in Sartana. The camp was set up on the territory of a destroyed farm. The prisoners had to sleep on the floor, and they ate only once a day. And even in those conditions, doctors tried to continue treating wounded Ukrainian soldiers. A few days later, the prisoners were transferred to the penal colony in Olenivka. And from October 16 to November 3, the man was detained in occupied Horlivka. In total, the doctor spent 206 days in captivity.

For reference: more than 500 Ukrainian doctors are currently forcibly detained by russia, including both civilians and military medics, the Center for Civil Liberties reports. Journalists are welcome to request comments from the Center’s experts.

• doctors
• military
• prisoners

Mariana Mamonova, 31, is a doctor, Armed Forces of Ukraine Medical Service Captain who has been traveling to the ATO/JFO area since 2018.

At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, she served in Mariupol. In mid-March, she found out that she was bearing a child. Despite pregnancy, she continued to save the lives of others. Later, together with her colleagues and dozens of civilians, she was at the Illich Steel and Iron Works. She was captured by the occupiers on April 4. The pregnant woman spent six months in the Olenivka colony. On September 21, she was set free. Four days after the exchange, she gave birth to a daughter.

For reference: more than 500 Ukrainian doctors are currently being forcibly detained across Russia. There are both civilian and military doctors among them, according to the Center for Civil Liberties. Journalists can also ask for the Center’s experts’ comments.

• doctors
• military
• prisoners
• women

When russia first attacked Ukraine in 2014, Halyna Klempouz was still a student. The girl started actively volunteering. In 2016, Halyna decided to become a military officer, the girl held various positions in the army and ended up in air reconnaissance. A year later, Halyna was demobilized, her father died and the girl had to stay at home to take care of her mother. With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the veteran wanted to mobilize, but Halyna’s boyfriend, who was defending Mariupol, made her promise that the girl would stay in the rear until he returned home. Halyna’s beloved was captured by the russians along with other defenders of Azovstal. Thus, Halyna’s struggle for Ukraine turned into a struggle for Ukrainian prisoners. Currently, the veteran works as a spokesperson at the Association of Azovstal Defenders’ Families.

• military
• prisoners
• women

On July 28, at 11:00 AM, Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform will hold a briefing entitled “Olenivka: Impunity – Encouragement of Terrorism.”  One year ago, the russians committed a terrorist attack brutally murdering the unarmed and powerless defenders of Azovstal, who had been held captive for more than two months at that time. As a result of the barbaric crime, according to unconfirmed data, at least 53 Ukrainian defenders were killed

Participants:

– Nataliia Zarytska, Chair of the “Woman of Steel,” wife of a released from captivity soldier of the Azov Regiment;

– Nataliia Pashniuk-Pashnieva, the mother of the defender of Azovstal who died as a result of the terrorist attack;

– Mariia Alieksieievych, the wife of the wounded defender of Azovstal, injured as a result of the terrorist attack in Olenivka;

– Nelia Shastun, the mother of two soldiers of the Azov Regiment, the elder of whom died, and the second was captured after leaving Azovstal and kept in the Olenivka barracks during the terrorist attack;

– Mykyta Shastun, Azovstal defender released from captivity, who was kept in the Olenivka barracks during the terrorist attack;

– Oleksandr Zarutskyi, international lawyer;

Prior accreditation is required.

• casualties
• dead
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Roksana is the wife of a prisoner of war of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine officer. Her husband was taken prisoner in May 2022. (At that time, by order of the higher command, Ukrainian defenders withdrew from Azovstal in Mariupol to save the lives of their personnel.) It is known that the man was held in the occupied territory in the Olenivka Colony, and now he is in the territory of Russia.  There is no contact with him.

According to his wife, relatives of prisoners of war of the border guards testify to a very small percentage of border guards returning during exchanges. Many border guards have been in enemy captivity since March last year.

• military
• prisoners

On July 26, at the Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform, the Media Initiative for Human Rights, a member of the 5AM Coalition, presents an investigation into the mass murder of Azovs in Olenivka Colony No. 120. During the presentation, based on the documented testimonies of the victims, the MIHR journalists will reveal in detail the circumstances of the crimes committed in Olenivka colony: how it happened, what happened inside and outside the barracks with the Azovs regiment members, why no one saved them, and who is to blame.

To reconstruct the events of the night of the mass murder of prisoners from July 28 to 29, 2022, the MIHR team interviewed crime witnesses. At the time of the attack, they were inside the barracks. At that time, two explosions killed about 50 Azov soldiers and seriously injured more than 70 others.

Speakers:

Tetiana Katrychenko – author of the investigation, Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR)

Maria Klymyk – author of the investigation, journalist at MIHR;

Anna Lobova, wife of a prisoner of war wounded in Olenivka;

Arina Khavanskykh, wife of a prisoner of war killed in Olenivka.

Event accreditation is required.

• dead
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Yuliia’s father, Serhii Khrypun, is a civilian who, at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, found himself under occupation in a village in Zaporizhia.  Serhii tried to leave the Russia-occupied territory many times, but having no passport, he was refused to pass through the checkpoints. Later, the family found out Russia had taken Serhii prisoner. Yuliia collected bits of information about her father from the military, who were released through exchanges. In September 2022, the girl received the last news from her father, a letter in which Serhii wrote that they were being treated well in captivity. However, Yuliia talked to those who had seen her father. From them, she learned that the man was subjected to electrical torture and was forced to sing the Russian anthem for six hours a day.

Together with other relatives of the prisoners, Yuliia created the NGO Civilians in Captivity. They contact all possible organizations to find out where and under what conditions their loved ones are taken captive.

• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Nataliia Sosmii, a cadet of the Ivan Kozhedub Kharkiv National Air Force University, faced the Russian invasion in Kherson. In the first months of the occupation, she rode her bike around the city and passed information about the Russians to the Ukrainian soldiers she possessed. In late August, Nataliia decided to leave Kherson. But the flight was postponed, and 30 armed Russians broke into the cadet’s house. Natalia’s home was searched, and she was taken to a temporary detention center there. There, she was beaten and psychologically pressured: in particular, her 16-year-old daughter was threatened with rape. “They said that they would take me to Donbas and let me go towards the Ukrainian military to be shot by Ukrainian soldiers. I said that I would rather be killed by my people rather than die here,” the cadet recalls.

Nataliia also heard how her classmate Oleksandr was being tortured. To save him, she agreed to take part in the recording of a Russian propaganda video. Nataliia has left Kherson and is safe and ready to talk to the media.

• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women

After being drafted into the army on February 25 last year, Oksana’s husband, Andrii Hankevych, became a combat medic. The Last time Oksana had a telephone conversation with her husband was at 11 p.m. on July 5, 2022, and at 1 a.m., he died. That time, her husband told Oksana: “You are strong. You will succeed no matter what happens to me.” These words enabled Oksana to move on, seek support, and raise her three children. The woman calls the Office of Support for Military Families in Lviv her second home. Thanks to the people at the Office, Oksana was able to create her own project, “Keep on Living.” And she is now trying to help the wives and mothers of soldiers who have been killed, gone missing, or captured. The project consists of several parts, including a photo shoot for women. The project’s author is convinced that positive emotions are the medicine that gives military families the strength to persevere in difficult times.

• casualties
• dead
• prisoners
• women

Military man Andrii Merchuk knocked out an enemy tank along the Lyman axis in May 2022. He was wounded, but did not leave his position. And before being captured, he even managed to write a message to his beloved Anastasiia. For some time Andrii was considered missing. Later, news came that he was in russian prisons. In April of this year, Andrii returned from captivity and soon married Anastasiia. His beloved serves as a patrol officer in Lutsk police.

• military
• prisoners