Themes by tag: prisoners

Tetiana Marina, the wife of Spanish citizen Mariano García Calatayud, who was abducted in Kherson, has been seeking her husband’s release from russian captivity for four years.

Mariano is a well-known volunteer who has been living in Ukraine since 2014. On March 19, 2022, he was abducted by russian security forces in occupied Kherson. It later became known that he was held in occupied Crimea, in particular at Simferopol Pre-Trial Detention Center No. 2, in a closed section for so-called political prisoners. It is also known that he suffered a heart attack while in captivity.

russia denies the abduction of the Spanish volunteer and conceals information about his place of detention. Spain has also attempted to facilitate an exchange. On February 2, 2026, Mariano turned 78 years old.

By prior arrangement, journalists may speak with Tetiana online.

For reference: Kherson was occupied by russian forces at the beginning of the full-scale invasion (March 1, 2022). The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the city from russian troops on November 11, 2022. The occupiers continue to regularly shell the city.

• prisoners
• russian crimes
• volunteers

On February 7, Bucha will host the support event “Light of Hope” for missing persons and prisoners. The event is initiated by families of those who have not yet returned home.

Nataliia Illiina, who has been waiting for her husband Mykola Illiin, a Defender of Ukraine, since February 2025, shares:
“Today I set the table again. I placed a plate for him. I left his chair empty. Just like yesterday. Just like the day before. Just like every day for a year now… More than 100 families in Bucha do the same. They set the table. Leave a place. Wait… We will stand in a circle. We will raise lanterns into the sky. We will create a lighted path home. In the center of the circle there will be that same table. That same empty chair. The bandura will be played.”

Residents of the Bucha community are encouraged to come with flashlights and join the event to draw public attention to the fate of missing persons and prisoners and to support their families.

• casualties
• prisoners
• Kyiv

To keep the spotlight on the defenders of Azovstal and other Ukrainian soldiers still held in russian captivity, peaceful rallies are scheduled across 28 cities under the slogan “Don’t be silent. Captivity kills!”

On January 31, events will be held in Okhtyrka, Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Irpin, Pavlysh, Dnipro, Shpola, Volochysk, Poltava, Pavlohrad, and Lviv.

On February 1, gatherings will take place in Kyiv, Krolevets, Pivdennoukrainsk, Mykolaiv, Uman, Obukhiv, Ovruch, Dolynska, Cherkasy, Lozova, Uzhhorod, Berdychiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Rivne, Chernivtsi, and Odesa.

Families of prisoners of war from the Mariupol garrison organize the actions. Released captives frequently take part in these demonstrations to raise awareness and press for the return of those still held.

• prisoners
• russian crimes

To keep public attention on the defenders of Azovstal and other Ukrainian soldiers still held in russian captivity, peaceful rallies under the slogan “Don’t Be Silent. Captivity Kills!” are scheduled across the country on January 17 and 18. Events will take place in 30 cities in total.

On January 17, gatherings are planned in Okhtyrka, Chernihiv, Zaporizhia, Vinnytsia, Irpin, Dnipro, Shpola, Volochysk, Pavlohrad, and Lviv.

On January 18, rallies will be held in Kyiv, Krolevets, Pivdennoukrainsk, Kremenchuk, Mykolaiv, Uman, Obukhiv, Ovruch, Dolynska, Cherkasy, Poltava, Lozova, Korostyshiv, Kovel, Uzhhorod, Berdychiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Rivne, Chernivtsi, and Odesa.

Families of prisoners of war from the Mariupol garrison organize the actions. Released captives frequently join the demonstrations to help amplify calls for the return of those still held.

• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes

Peaceful events are planned in 28 cities across Ukraine to raise awareness of the defenders of Azovstal and other soldiers still in enemy captivity.

On January 10, events will be held in Okhtyrka, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsia, Dnipro, Shpola, Volochysk, Pavlohrad, and Lviv.

On January 11, events are planned in Kyiv, Krolevets, Pivdennoukrainsk, Kremenchuk, Mykolaiv, Korop, Korosten, Obukhiv, Ovruch, Dolynska, Cherkasy, Kharkiv, Lozova, Uzhhorod, Berdychiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Rivne, Chernivtsi, and Odesa.

The events are organized by families of prisoners of war from the Mariupol garrison. Recently released Ukrainian captives also often join these actions.

• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

“Don’t be silent. Captivity kills.” Under this message, peaceful rallies will take place on December 20-21 to draw attention to Ukrainian prisoners of war and service members listed as missing in action.

The events aim to remind the public of the defenders of Azovstal and other soldiers who remain in enemy captivity. Organizers say demonstrations are planned in 30 cities across the country.

On December 20, rallies are scheduled in Arbuzynka, Okhtyrka, Chernihiv, Irpin, Shpola, Volochysk, Zaporizhia, Bila Tserkva, Dnipro, and Pavlohrad.

On December 21, events are scheduled to take place in Kyiv, Krolevets, Pivdennoukrainsk, Mykolaiv, Uman, Obukhiv, Ovruch, Cherkasy, Korostyshiv, Uzhhorod, Lozova, Poltava, Dolynska, Berdychiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Rivne, Chernivtsi, Kovel, Odesa, and Lviv.

The rallies are organized by families of prisoners of war from the Mariupol garrison. Ukrainians who have been released from captivity often join the gatherings, standing alongside relatives to keep the issue in public view.

• prisoners

Former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolaienko joined Ukraine’s territorial defense forces on the first day of russia’s full-scale invasion. When russian troops occupied the southern city in early March 2022, the 62-year-old former official went underground. He also took part in public rallies against the occupation, joining thousands of Kherson residents who defied russian forces. The largest demonstration, on March 13, 2022, drew more than 10,000 people into the streets.

In April that year, russian forces abducted Mykolaienko. He was held for more than two weeks at a police station in Kherson that the russian military had converted into a makeshift detention and torture site. According to accounts of his captivity, he was subjected to repeated beatings, interrogations, and abuse.

From Kherson, Mykolaienko was transferred to occupied Sevastopol and later moved twice more between detention facilities. He returned home on Aug. 24, 2025, as part of another prisoner exchange. Before that, he had twice refused to be included in swaps, opting instead to give his place to another captive who was gravely ill.

Mykolaienko is still recovering from the physical and psychological toll of his imprisonment. Even so, he has already resumed efforts to help secure the release of other Ukrainians held in russian captivity.

He can be reached for online or in-person meetings in Kherson by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kherson

Volodymyr Sorochan is originally from Kherson. In 2014, he joined the Ukrainian military and served in Crimea. After russia annexed the peninsula, he remained loyal to his oath and relocated to mainland Ukraine with his comrades. He later continued his service under contract with the 36th Brigade.

Volodymyr encountered the start of the full-scale invasion while on duty near Mariupol. He was captured in April 2022 after attempting to escape the Azovmash plant in Mariupol. He spent nearly three years in russian captivity. There, he endured daily beatings and constant hunger. The former prisoner recalls receiving meager portions of slop instead of proper food.

On October 18, 2024, Volodymyr was returned to Ukraine. After receiving treatment and undergoing rehabilitation, he returned to civilian life. He now maintains a blog where he shares his experiences. He has also finished writing a book in which he recounts his story.

Journalists can speak with Volodymyr Sorochan online or in person in Lviv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Lviv

Azat Azatian has been uprooted three times in his life. As a child, he left Armenia with his family. In 2014, he fled the russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Donetsk region. And in 2022, he once again found himself under occupation, this time in Berdiansk, in the Zaporizhia region.

When russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Azat began volunteering in Berdiansk. He brought food to people stranded for hours at checkpoints and helped civilians evacuate to Ukrainian-controlled territory. That work drew the attention of russian forces. Azat was abducted, held in captivity for 43 days, and subjected to torture. He later said that thoughts of his wife and three children were what allowed him to endure the ordeal.

After managing to leave the occupied territory and undergo medical treatment, Azat chose not to retreat into private life. Instead, he returned to helping others. He went on to open 11 assistance centers for displaced people, providing support to those who, like him, had lost their homes and sense of security.

In 2025, alongside other civilians who had survived captivity, Azat co-founded the Way of the Freeman rehabilitation center in Zaporizhia. The center focuses on people who endured detention and abuse, offering free psychological counseling, legal support, and physical recovery sessions.

Azat Azatian is available to speak with people seeking support both online and in person in Zaporizhia, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Zaporizhzhia

Vadym Shevchenko was living with his parents in Polohy, a city in the Zaporizhia region, when russian forces seized it in early March 2022. As explosions shook their neighborhood, the family sheltered in the basement of their home, hoping the fighting would pass.

Just two weeks later, on March 15, 2022, the 25-year-old and a neighbor attempted to flee the occupied city. According to the woman who was with him, armed men in uniforms of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic stopped their car at the final checkpoint and pulled Vadym out. His mother, Olena, believes his lifelong burn scars on his hands led the occupiers to mistakenly suspect he was a soldier.

He was first detained in Melitopol and later transferred to facilities in Donetsk and Olenivka. Today, he is being held in a penal colony in Mordovia, russia. Olena sends letters through the International Committee of the Red Cross and has received two replies from her son. 

She has also learned that he has lost about 30 kilograms during his imprisonment.

Determined to help others facing hardship, Olena now volunteers with the charity “World. Ukraine. Polohy,” supporting families in frontline communities with food assistance.

Interviews with Olena can be arranged in Zaporizhia, in Kyiv, or remotely.

• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv
• Zaporizhzhia