Themes by tag: prisoners

Yulian Pylypei, a seasoned Ukrainian Marine, endured unimaginable hardships during his more than two years in captivity. A professional soldier since 2013, Pylypei joined the Marines in 2017, serving in Mariupol. When russia launched its full-scale invasion, he was leading a mortar battery in the 36th Marine Brigade of the Ukrainian Navy.

On April 14, 2022, Pylypei and his comrades were captured while attempting to break through to Azovstal. His family learned of his capture through a text sent in russian from his phone. Over the next two years and five months, he was moved through several detention facilities, including Sartana, Olenivka, Taganrog, Novozybkov, Kursk, and Mordovia, before returning to Novozybkov. Each location brought its own trials, which Pylypei recounts in harrowing detail.

Twice accused and tried by his captors, Pylypei suffered relentless abuse. He was beaten for refusing to confess to ordering attacks on civilians, starved, and subjected to torture, including an attempt to burn off his tattoo of the Ukrainian coat of arms with a stun gun. In his prayers, Pylypei asked for the strength to remain sane amid the torment.

When he was taken from his cell with his belongings, Pylypei assumed he was being transferred to another prison. He could hardly believe it when he was informed he was part of a prisoner exchange. On September 13, 2024, after 29 months in captivity, Pylypei finally returned home to Ukraine.

Those wishing to meet or speak with Yulian Pylypei, either online or in person in Kyiv, can arrange it in advance.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Peaceful events are planned in 24 cities across Ukraine to raise awareness of the defenders of Azovstal and other soldiers still in enemy captivity.

On December 7, rallies will be held in Okhtyrka, Pivdenoukrainsk, Pavlohrad, Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, Irpin, Dnipro, and Zaporizhia.

On December 8, peaceful actions are scheduled in Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Cherkasy, Poltava, Kropyvnytskyi, Uzhhorod, Korosten, Obukhiv, Brovary, Krolevets, Ovruch, Kryvyi Rih, Ternopil, Odesa, Ostroh and Chernivtsi.

The events are organized by the families of POWs from the Mariupol garrison. The rallies are often attended by Ukrainians who have been released from captivity.

• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Before joining the Azov Brigade, Svitlana Vorova worked as a senior engineer at Ukrzaliznytsia and raised three children. One of her sons, Oleksandr Kutuzakii, was in the Azov Brigade from the very beginning. On 15 February 2015, the vehicle carrying Svitlana’s son was ambushed by enemy forces. His body was taken by kadyrov’s troops and returned mutilated, but Svitlana chose to bury him in an open coffin to expose the brutality of the enemy.

The loss of Oleksandr was devastating for Svitlana, especially after the deaths of her father and father-in-law and a divorce. Her two younger children helped her to cope with the loss and find the strength to move on.

In 2020, she decided to honour the legacy of her fallen son by joining the Azov Brigade herself.

When the full-scale invasion began, Svitlana was in Mariupol with her comrades and soon found herself in Azovstal. Although her commander offered women the chance to leave through a green corridor, Svitlana stayed. She spent 86 days in the steelworks, was taken prisoner with her comrades and spent 11 months in a russian prison camp. According to Svitlana, the women were not physically tortured, but they were subjected to constant psychological abuse. On her return, Svitlana spent eight months in rehabilitation centres, hospitals and sanatoriums. She then re-joined the army.

Svitlana Vorova is currently serving in the East. Interviews with her can be arranged online or in person by prior arrangement with the Azov Brigade press service.

• casualties
• dead
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women

Ilias Sheikhisliamov, a Crimean Tatar and volunteer from the Odesa oblast, was born and raised in Crimea. After the russian occupation of the peninsula in 2014, he stayed there for another four years. Since 2019, he only visited Crimea in the summer to see his family.  Ilias met the beginning of the full-scale invasion abroad: he was studying at a university in Turkey. However, he soon decided to return to Ukraine to volunteer and support the Ukrainian army.

His professors discouraged him from returning, but he insisted and later came to Odesa. He immediately started working there and joined the NGO “Crimean Tatars of Odesa Oblast”. On March 5, 2024, Ilias learned that his father, Ali Mamutov, who was living with his family in occupied Crimea, had been arrested by the russian authorities. He learned the news from his younger brother. The occupiers falsely accused Ali Mamutov of participating in or creating a terrorist organization.

While his father was being held in a detention center in Simferopol, Ilias managed to communicate with him through the russian app Zonatelecom. However, Ali Mamutov was transferred to the russian city of Rostov, and communication with him was cut off. After his father’s arrest, Ilias decided to pursue his teenage dream of becoming a lawyer. He enrolled at the Tavrida National University, which had relocated to Kyiv after Crimea’s occupation. Ilias sees this as one of the ways to keep in touch with Crimea.

Ilias Sheikhisliamov is available for interviews, both online and offline, by prior arrangement.

Background: As of May this year, the Crimean Tatar Resource Center recorded 331 cases of political imprisonment and criminal persecution since the annexation of Crimea. Of these, 217 were against members of the Crimean Tatar community.

• casualties
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• volunteers
• Kyiv
• Odesa

Peaceful rallies will take place in 26 cities across Ukraine on November 23-24 to raise awareness about the plight of Azovstal defenders and other military personnel still held in enemy captivity. The events aim to remind the nation and the world of the ongoing struggle faced by prisoners of war and the missing.

On November 23, rallies will be held in Okhtyrka, Pivdennoukrainsk, Pavlohrad, Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, Irpin, Dnipro, Zhytomyr, Obukhiv, and Zaporizhia. The following day, November 24, similar actions are planned in Kyiv, Pivdennoukrainsk, Mykolaiv, Uman, Cherkasy, Poltava, Uzhhorod, Korosten, Obukhiv, Brovary, Krolevets, Ovruch, Korostyshiv, Kovel, Kryvyi Rih, Ternopil, Kremenchuk, Odesa, Ostroh, and Chernivtsi.

These events are spearheaded by the families of prisoners of war from the Mariupol garrison, with participation from Ukrainians who have been released from captivity. Their collective message seeks to emphasize the urgent need to secure the freedom of those still detained and highlight the resilience of Ukraine’s defenders.

• casualties
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Mariia Aleksieievych is the wife of Serhii Aleksieievych, a fighter of the Azov Brigade, which defended Mariupol from the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion until 16 May 2022. On that day, Serhii and his comrades left Azovstal on orders from their superiors and were captured by russians.

For more than two years, Mariia worked tirelessly to bring her beloved and other prisoners home. During this time, she traveled to Austria to attend an OSCE meeting on the Olenivka terrorist attack, met with Ukrainian officials, and attended weekly rallies dedicated to the defenders of Azovstal. On 18 October 2024, Serhii Aleksieievych returned to Ukraine as part of a prisoner exchange.

Mariia says she had a strong feeling that her beloved would finally come home that day. At 10.20 pm, she received a call from the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War with the long-awaited news. A few hours later, Serhii himself called her. Mariia says she still cannot believe it is not a dream and that her husband has really returned from captivity.

Serhii is currently undergoing treatment and rehabilitation.

Serhii Aleksieievych is not yet ready for interviews. However, Mariia Aleksieievych is available to talk about her experiences, her work with Olenivka Community NGO and the emotional reunion with her husband after his captivity – online or in person in Kyiv or Vinnytsia by prior arrangement.

• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Kyiv
• Vinnytsia

On November 20, the Media Center Ukraine will hold a press conference and presentation of the “Moscow Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War”. The event will present an alternative version of the Geneva Conventions: the “Moscow Conventions,” which are structurally similar to the original, but describe completely different norms, such as killing, torture, electric shocks, beatings, lack of medical care, and inhumane detention conditions.

Participants:

– Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights;

– Oleh Hushchyn, representative of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War;

– Yevheniia Synelnyk, representative of the Association of Azovstal Defenders’ Families;

– Tetiana Katrychenko, Executive Director of the Media Initiative for Human Rights;

– Yuliia “Taira” Paievska, liberated paramedic and volunteer (online).

Registration is required for this event.

• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On November 15, Kyiv will host the human rights action “Empty Chairs” in support of journalists, writers, cultural figures and human rights activists who have gone missing, have been imprisoned or are in captivity because of russia’s war against Ukraine. The event will feature a symbolic installation of empty chairs.

Lawyers, family members and friends of detained media workers will speak at the event. Among them are Oksana Mykhalevych, a lawyer for Dmytro Khyliuk, a journalist abducted by the russian military, and Olena Tsygipa, the wife of imprisoned journalist Serhii Tsygipa from Nova Kakhovka.

Media professionals returned from russian captivity will share their experiences – in particular, civil journalist and human rights activist Liudmyla Huseinova and journalist and Crimean politician Nariman Dzhelial.

The event aims to unite the efforts of all those who support Ukraine and fight for the release of civilians and prisoners of war unlawfully detained as a result of russia’s war against Ukraine.

For reference: The event is organized by PEN Ukraine and the Center for Civil Liberties.

• casualties
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Alla Senchenko is both a skilled tailor and a dedicated soldier. She joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 2018, serving for three years before her initial contract ended. When russia launched its full-scale invasion, Alla wasted no time and reported to the military recruitment office, where she was mobilized as a rifleman.

In May 2022, while defending Lyman in the Donetsk region, she was captured by russian forces. Held in captivity for eight months and 11 days, Alla recalls relying solely on her faith and hope to endure. On February 4, 2023, she was finally released and returned to Ukraine. After completing her rehabilitation in late March, Alla was able to reunite with her family, whom she had not seen since the war began.

Today, Alla works at the Lutsk Territorial Center of Recruitment and Social Support. Alongside her current role, she dreams of designing clothing for soldiers and remains steadfast in her hope for Ukraine’s victory.

For those interested, Alla Senchenko is available for conversations both online and in person, by prior arrangement.

• military
• prisoners
• women
• Lutsk

Peaceful demonstrations will take place in 26 cities across Ukraine to draw attention to prisoners of war and missing persons, including the Azovstal defenders and other military personnel still held in enemy captivity.

On November 9, rallies are planned in Okhtyrka, Pavlohrad, Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, Irpin, Dnipro, and Zaporizhia. The following day, November 10, events will be held in Kyiv, Pivdennoukrainsk, Mykolaiv, Uman, Cherkasy, Poltava, Uzhhorod, Korosten, Obukhiv, Krolevets, Ovruch, Korostyshiv, Kremenchuk, Odesa, Ostroh, and Chernivtsi.

These gatherings aim to remind the public of the ongoing plight of those in captivity and rally support for their release.

• military
• prisoners
• Kyiv