Themes by tag: prisoners

Originally from Donetsk, Tetiana Tipakova lived in Berdiansk, Zaporizhia region (currently Russian-occupied), for about 30 years. Before Russia’s all-out invasion, she worked in a travel agency.

Since the full-blown war’s early days, Tetiana assembled peaceful protests in support of Ukraine in Berdiansk. Eventually, she was abducted by the Russian military for leading the actions. They put a bag over her head and took her to a colony, where she was interrogated for two days and beaten. Tetiana was subjected to electric shocks through her fingers and Russian captors mocked her execution. She was also forced to record an apology video. The prisoner was released, but the next day she was captured again. This time, she was held for 4 days and again had to endure torture.

After that, Tatiana decided to flee the city. She traveled through more than 20 checkpoints to get to the city of Zaporizhia. There she later founded the Ridna Stezhka NGO to support her fellow countrymen who were also forced out of the occupied city. They help people with food and medicine insecurity and organize leisure activities. They also help the military from the Berdiansk community. “Our heart is forever yellow and blue” is a tagline linked with the organization. 

There is an opportunity for journalists to hold offline and online interviews with Tetiana. 

• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women

The first days of russia’s full-scale enemy invasion caught 25-year-old Viktor Lakhno in Berdyansk, Zaporizhia region. The man joined the territorial defense forces, and together with his brothers in arms he patrolled nearby settlements. Once the territorial defense soldiers even managed to capture some of the occupiers. After Berdyansk was occupied by the russians, Viktor became a resistance fighter. And later he left for the Ukraine-controlled territory.

Viktor was one of the people who volunteered to take a helicopter ride to Mariupol surrounded by the russians. The Ukrainian military man managed to take several rides. He helped to deliver the cargo and pick up seriously wounded soldiers.

Starting on April 4, 2022, Viktor fought in Mariupol. Later, together with other defenders of the city, he ended up at the Azovstal plant. By order of the command, the soldier left Azovstal on May 17. He spent 4 months in the infamous colony in occupied Olenivka, Donetsk region. Later he was transferred to occupied Horlivka. In general, Victor spent 13 months in enemy captivity. The military returned home in June 2023.

For reference: the defense of Mariupol lasted 86 days. Following the order of the command, the Ukrainian defenders stopped the defense, left Azovstal and surrendered to the enemy. On May 20, 2022, russia occupied Mariupol. 

• military
• prisoners

The “I Want to Find” state project intended to work with citizens of the aggressor country, primarily with the families of Russian service members who went missing, died, or were taken prisoner in Ukraine. “I Want to Find” project services allow Russians with missing soldier relatives in Ukraine to check if they are being held as POWs or have been confirmed killed. 

Russian Ministry of Defense officials often refuse to recognize their own soldiers who were lucky enough to survive in Ukraine as prisoners of war. Their relatives and friends fail to get Russia authorities to include those POWs on the exchange list for prisoner swaps. 

By providing reliable information to the Russian servicemen’s families, the “I Want to Find” project will help to put more public pressure on their government. In particular, in the issues of prisoner-of-war exchanges, search, identification, and transfer of bodies from the war zone. This will allow Ukraine to repatriate more defenders.

• dead
• prisoners

The campaign under the slogan “Don’t be silent. Captivity Kills!” action will take place in Krolevets, Sumy Oblast, Pavlohrad, Dnipro Oblast, and Odesa on January 6. 

The gatherings to be staged in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kremenchuk (Poltava region), Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk region), Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ovruch (Zhytomyr region) are scheduled for January 7. 

The peaceful rally is held by families of prisoners of war from the Mariupol garrison. 

For reference: On January 3 this year, Ukraine brought 230 military and civilians back from Russian captivity. That’s the largest prisoner exchange to be carried out since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Among those who returned home, there were no representatives of the 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade, who defended Mariupol and surrendered in May 2022 on the orders of their command.

• prisoners

On January 5, Media Center Ukraine Ukrinform will host a briefing on the investigation of the terrorist attack in Olenivka “Crime without punishment.”

Participants:

• Anna Lobova, a wife of a soldier heavily wounded in the terrorist attack, “Olenivka Families Community” NGO;
• Mariia Alieksieievych, a wife of a soldier heavily wounded in the terrorist attack, “Olenivka Families Community” NGO;
• Tetiana Katrychenko, Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR) NGO;
• Andrii Yakovlev, Regional Center for Human Rights NGO;
• A representative of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War;
• A representative of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union

For reference: On the night of July 29, 2022, the russian federation committed a terrorist attack, setting off an explosion in the barracks of the penal colony in Olenivka with Ukrainian POWs kept inside. As a result, at least 50 Azovstal defenders were killed.

On January 5, 2023, Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General, stated that the Secretary-General had decided to disband the fact-finding mission regarding the 29 July 2022 incident at Olenivka.

Both the UN and the ICRC were denied access to the scene of the crime. Moreover, these organizations refrained from explicitly attributing responsibility to the russian federation for the lack of access. 

• prisoners
• Kyiv

On December 23, the exhibition “Fragility” will open in Kyiv. This exhibition is dedicated to prisoners of war and those who are waiting for their relatives and friends from captivity.

In the first days of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, defenders and workers of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant were under the russian occupation.

On March 31, 2022, the russians captured 169 Ukrainian National Guardsmen on the territory of the Chernobyl NPP and took them to Bryansk region of the russian federation. 108 of them still remain in captivity.

In order to draw attention to these prisoners of war and support the families who are waiting for the return of their loved ones, a gallery in the capital will display paintings, sculptures and digital works by more than 20 contemporary foreign and Ukrainian artists.

At the opening, everyone will be able to talk with relatives and friends of the Guardsmen — the defenders of the Chernobyl NPP — and watch a short documentary made by Babylon’13 film collective about the work of combat medics from Hospitallers battalion.

50 of the presented works will be available for purchase at an online auction. Funds will be directed to the Hospitallers battalion to support “Avstriika” hospital on wheels.

The event requires accreditation.

• casualties
• culture
• prisoners
• Kyiv

Oleh Horbachov, the lawyer of Stanislav Asieiev, a former prisoner of the “Insulation” concentration camp, said that during the court session on December 22, the defendant is to present the closing statement. Then the judges will go to the conference room to agree on the sentence. Stanislav Avsieiev’s defense attorney said that he would ask the court to let the journalists be present in the court when the verdict is announced.

For reference: Denys “Palych” Kulykovskyi is charged with five counts, including human trafficking and violation of the laws and customs of war. The prosecutor’s office demands 15 years behind bars for the accused man.

“Insulation” is the term referring to the territory of the former insulation material factory in Donetsk. In June 2014, it was captured by the occupiers and turned into a military base and a prison for the captives. “Insulation” prison was repeatedly called “Europe’s last concentration camp” in the media.

• casualties
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On February 26, 2022, Vasyl Vyrozub, the abbot of the Odesa Holy Trinity Church of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, was captured by the enemy. He was among those who went to Snake Island to collect the bodies of the border guards, who were still considered dead at that time.

The Ukrainian ship that Vasyl was traveling on was captured by the russian cruiser “Moskva.” The man, along with two other military chaplains and a doctor, was captured by the russians. Vasyl’s captivity lasted 70 days, during which he was tortured. The russians interrogated the Ukrainians constantly: they could not understand why the crew had set out to collect the bodies of the border guards. The captives were forced to sing the national anthem of the aggressor country, stand on their knees, and were kept in solitary confinement.

After being captured, Vasyl received the Memory of Nations award from the Czech non-profit organization Post Bellum, the main purpose of which is to honor living witnesses of historical events: war veterans, political prisoners.

For reference: The fighting for Snake Island began on February 24, 2022, when russian invaders captured the island. At first all 13 Ukrainian border guards who had been protecting the island were considered to have been killed. Subsequently, the Border Service of Ukraine reported that the Snake island defenders may be in captivity.

On July 4, 2022, Snake Island returned under Ukraine’s control. 

• casualties
• prisoners
• religion
• russian crimes

The Women of Steel NGO, together with the families of Ukrainian prisoners of war, invites the media to a peaceful action called Lost Connection to take place on December 10, in Kyiv. The event is aimed at supporting Ukrainian prisoners of war and their families.

“We want the Ukrainian government and society to hear us and demonstrate their intention to continue the decisive struggle for their liberation together with the families of Ukrainian captured defenders,” the organizers of the campaign state.

According to them, the exchange process has been completely paused for the past six months. Ukrainian soldiers held hostage in Russian custody are deprived of any chance to send word about themselves being in captivity.

Women of Steel is convinced that only the unity and integrity of society and increasing pressure on the aggressor state can influence the situation.

• military
• prisoners
• women
• Kyiv

In January 2015, during fierce fighting that flared near the Donetsk airport, Bohdan Pantiushenko, a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was taken prisoner by Russia. It took five years to bring Bohdan home. He was freed from captivity in a prisoner exchange on December 29, 2019. Today, together with his wife Victoriia, Bohdan has started his own business, namely a family-friendly cafe in the Kyiv region. A couple, raising a little boy, decided to design a kids’ space in their restaurant, as well as a number of dining options for children. 

At first, Bohdan planned to invest only his own assets, but then he learned about the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation support program for veterans. So the serviceman applied for a business grant and got almost three million hryvnias for the project launch. Bohdan and his wife hope the cafe will open its doors to visitors in the spring of 2024.

• military
• prisoners
• Kyiv