Themes by tag: prisoners

Azat Azatyan has become a displaced person three times in his life. As a child, he moved with his family from Armenia; in 2014, he fled the russian-occupied part of the Donetsk region; and in 2022, he found himself under occupation in Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia region.

At the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion, Azat began volunteering in Berdiansk, feeding people waiting in lines at checkpoints and helping them evacuate to Ukraine-controlled territories.

This work angered the russian military, who subsequently abducted Azat. He was held in captivity for 43 days and subjected to torture. Only thoughts of his wife and three children helped Azat survive the abuse. After escaping the occupied area and undergoing medical treatment, he chose to continue helping those in need, opening 11 centers for internally displaced persons (IDPs).

In 2025, alongside other civilians who survived captivity, he founded the “Way of the Free” rehabilitation center in Zaporizhzhia for those who suffered in confinement. The center provides psychological and legal assistance free of charge, as well as physical rehabilitation sessions. Additionally, this summer, the NGO presented a documentary about captives titled “Fire Does Not Burn the Fierce.” The film compiles the stories of seven civilians who survived russian captivity.

Azat Azatyan is available for interviews both online and offline in Zaporizhzhia, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Zaporizhzhia

On June 27, a peaceful action titled “Voices of Silence” will take place in Bucha, Kyiv Oblast. Every day, hundreds of Ukrainian families live in painful anticipation of news from their loved ones who are in captivity or reported missing. This action serves as a poignant reminder that we remember everyone and continue to wait for their return home.

• military
• prisoners
• Kyiv

Tetiana Fedorova is originally from Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Prior to the full-scale russian invasion, she balanced her job at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant with volunteering for the Ukrainian military. Following February 24, 2022, her son joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine to fight on the front lines. Tetiana herself refused to evacuate her native Enerhodar, believing that the enemy occupation of the city would be temporary.

She recalls that nuclear plant workers were intimidated and forced to submit to the occupiers; those who resisted were killed. When the russians discovered that Tetiana’s son was defending Ukraine, they abducted her from her own home. She endured torture as the russians attempted to extract information about Ukrainian servicemen and volunteers remaining in the city. They also questioned her about ordinary citizens who supported Ukraine. Tetiana takes pride in the fact that, despite the torture, she did not disclose any useful intelligence to the enemy. After a month in captivity, she was released, and she eventually managed to flee the occupied territory with her family.

Tetiana found refuge in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, where she underwent medical treatment and worked with a psychologist. In her new home, she enrolled in sewing classes and handcrafted a pair of small shoes for her dog, Luna. She immediately received orders for pet footwear from other owners. This sparked the idea for her own brand, Luna.animalshop. Tetiana began sewing pet clothes and various costumes, completed a business entrepreneurship course, won a grant, and purchased the necessary equipment. Today, Tetiana continues to run her business, support the military, and await both her son’s return from the war and the liberation of Enerhodar.

Interviews with Tetiana Fedorova can be arranged either online or in person in Khmelnytskyi Oblast by prior appointment.

• casualties
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Khmelnytskyi

To remind the public about the defenders of Azovstal and other military personnel who remain in enemy captivity, peaceful events are planned in 29 cities.

On June 20, rallies will take place in Okhtyrka, Pavlohrad, Chernihiv, Irpin, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Bila Tserkva, Shpola, Volochysk, Lviv, Ostroh and Dnipro.

On June 21, events are scheduled in Kyiv, Krolevets, Pivdennoukrainsk, Kremenchuk, Uman, Mykolaiv, Ovruch, Obukhiv, Dolynska, Lozova, Kovel, Korostyshiv, Uzhhorod, Berdychiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Chernivtsi and Odesa.

The events are being organised by the families of prisoners of war from the Mariupol garrison. Ukrainians who have themselves been released from captivity also often take part in the rallies.

• military
• prisoners

On June 21, the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War (Museum of the War) will host a meeting with released prisoner of war Mykyta Markitanov, poet Oksana Stomina—the wife of Dmytro Paskalov, a released defender of Azovstal—and artist Maryna Sochenko, who depicts prisoners of war in her works.

Despite health issues, Mykyta volunteered for the war in July 2023. He fought in the Avdiivka direction and was captured in February 2024. According to the soldier, he and other POWs were “sold” to Chechnya for forced labor. Mykyta Markitanov spent nearly two years in captivity, finally returning home on April 24, 2026. During his time in russian dungeons, he wrote a series of poems dedicated to the war and captivity, which he managed to smuggle out by hiding them in his shoes.

Oksana Stomina is a poet and public activist from Mariupol, as well as the author and editor of numerous poetry collections about the war, which have been translated into German, Italian, English, Spanish, Lithuanian, and Czech. In May 2026, her husband Dmytro Paskalov, an Azovstal defender who had been held in captivity since May 2022, was finally released from russian captivity.

Maryna Sochenko is a well-known artist, volunteer, and Honored Artist of Ukraine, whose son Lyubomyr volunteered for the front line and was killed in action. She created a gallery of works, dedicating many of them to her sons—the defenders of Ukraine.

Since the beginning of the war, she has been active as a volunteer. She drew wounded soldiers in ATO hospitals and visited the front lines several times, bringing back more than a hundred portraits of Ukrainian heroes and defenders. Among her works, those dedicated to the captured defenders of Azovstal stand out significantly.

At the meeting, Mykyta Markitanov and his family will share the story of his life and military journey, and read his poetry written in captivity. Oksana Stomina and Maryna Sochenko will speak about their creative experiences inspired by the stories of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

• culture
• prisoners
• Kyiv

Nazari Krasovskyi signed a contract with the 12th Azov Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine in 2020. The soldier was in Mariupol when the full-scale invasion began; he defended Azovstal and, alongside his brothers-in-arms, followed command orders and surrendered into captivity in May 2022.

Nazari spent 3.5 years in captivity. To keep his spirits up, the serviceman wrote poems, scratching the lines onto a piece of soap, and whenever the opportunity arose, he transferred the texts onto scraps of paper. He was returned home in August 2025 during a prisoner exchange.

Since then, Nazari has been undergoing rehabilitation at the UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Center in Lviv. The soldier suffered a severe spinal injury while in captivity.

The serviceman shared that Ilona had been his friend for 15 years. During his rehabilitation, she immediately came to visit Nazari, and he realized he wanted to marry her. Ilona said yes to his proposal.

Interviews with Nazari Krasovskyi can be arranged either online or offline in Lviv by prior agreement. Photo and video materials of the marriage proposal moment are available for journalists upon request.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Lviv

To raise awareness for the defenders of “Azovstal” and other service members still held in enemy captivity, peaceful rallies are planned across 29 cities.

On June 13, events will take place in Okhtyrka, Svitlovodsk, Pavlohrad, Vinnytsia, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Shpola, Volochysk, Bila Tserkva, Ostroh, Lviv, and Dnipro.

On June 14, rallies are scheduled in Kyiv, Krolevets, Pivdennoukrainsk, Kremenchuk, Korop, Ovruch, Obukhiv, Dolynska, Poltava, Lozova, Kharkiv, Uzhhorod, Berdychiv, Rivne, Kropyvnytskyi, Odesa, and Ivano-Frankivsk.

The events are organized by the families of the Mariupol Garrison prisoners of war. Released Ukrainian POWs themselves frequently join these solidarity actions.

• military
• prisoners

On June 13, a peaceful rally titled “Civilians Are Waiting. The World Must Act” will be held in Kyiv. The NGO “Civilians in Captivity” is inviting international media, diplomats, and representatives of Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to attend an event dedicated to Ukrainian civilians who have been held in captivity for more than five years without the possibility of exchange, access to normal life, or basic human rights.

The event highlights serious violations of international law by russia, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, which guarantee the protection of civilians in armed conflict.

Organizers are calling on world leaders, international organizations, and human rights institutions to take immediate action to secure the return of Ukrainian civilians.

Representatives of Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the Office of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as families of civilian hostages, are expected to attend.

• prisoners
• Kyiv

Alla and Oleksiy began building their life together in 2021. As a serviceman in the “Azov” Regiment, Oleksiy was frequently deployed on missions.

On the night of February 24, 2022, the couple was scheduled to fly abroad for a vacation. However, just a day prior, the fighter was urgently deployed to Mariupol. It was there that Oleksiy witnessed the beginning of the full-scale invasion, and in May 2022, he and his fellow brothers-in-arms entered captivity following orders to leave the Azovstal steelworks.

Since then, Alla, who never had the chance to officially become Oleksiy’s wife, has been fighting for his freedom and return to Ukraine. For four years now, alongside Oleksiy’s mother, Oksana, she has been anxiously awaiting every prisoner exchange. In 2024, alongside other relatives of captured Azov fighters, Alla traveled to the Vatican, where she met with Pope Francis. The young woman continuously initiates meetings with the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, the National Guard (NSU) command, and representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Currently, Oleksiy remains illegally sentenced in russia to 29 years in a maximum-security prison. He faces fabricated charges of shooting a civilian woman in Mariupol and committing acts of terrorism.

Interviews with Alla can be arranged by prior agreement, either online or in person within the Kyiv region.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Kyiv

The research presentation “After Captivity: What Released Civilians Face” will take place in Kyiv on June 9.

The study was prepared by the Civil Society Protection Foundation “Civis Fortis” in cooperation with the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation.

Finding housing, medical treatment, and restoring identity documents are just some of the challenges awaiting Ukrainian civilians upon their release from russian captivity. How do former hostages navigate this journey? Is there comprehensive state support available for them? What changes need to be implemented in the fields of medical, social, and legal assistance?

Speakers:

• Anastasiia Odintsova, Legal Analyst at Civis Fortis;
• Maxym Parashchevin, Expert at the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation;
• Kostiantyn Davydenko, survivor of russian captivity;
• Olena Yahupova, survivor of russian captivity and forced labor;
• Tetiana Katrychenko, Head of the Media Initiative for Human Rights.

Media accreditation is required to attend.

• prisoners
• Kyiv