Themes by tag: prisoners

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

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Olena Yuzvak has been under occupation. Despite the Russians taking over Hostomel, the doctor stayed and continued to work and help people. Olena distributed medicine and took care of the wounded until the occupiers took her prisoner. The doctor was imprisoned for a day, and 10 days later, the Ukrainian forces retake control of Hostomel. Olena immediately went back to work and tackled to restore the medical facilities she managed. One of them was located in the village of Moshchun in the Kyiv Oblast and was destroyed by a direct shell hit. Thanks to the support of international funds, Olena managed to build a new Health Center and turn it to be an energy-independent Point of Invincibility. Now the doctor continues to work toward the restoration of medical facilities. 

• doctors
• occupation
• prisoners
• reconstruction
• women
• Kyiv

21-year-old Daniil Melnyk studied at the Lviv Military Academy. He used to be a deputy platoon leader and defended the Kyiv region from the enemy at the beginning of the all-out invasion. In the Borodiansky district, he was ambushed but took the fights with other combatants. Getting his hands wounded, he couldn’t even bandage them. He gave his ammunition to a comrade. Then he lost consciousness. Two days later, the Russians found him and took him prisoner. He was first held in Ukraine, then in Belarus, Russia, and the occupied Crimea. On April 21, 2022, Daniel was released from captivity.

He lost both his feet, his left palm, and 4 fingers on his right hand. Now the defender wants to go back to active duty service. He recently took part in the Sculpture series photo project.

For reference: Last December, Ukrainian photographer Marta Syrko founded the Sculpture series photo project. The protagonists of her photographs are Ukrainian defenders who suffered as a result of Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine. (These are soldiers who were injured, got burned, or had their limbs amputated.) Civilians affected by the war can also join the project.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• prisoners

Olena Yahupova, a resident of Kamianka-Dniprovska, was abducted from her home by the occupiers in October last year. A denunciation was made against the woman for her husband’s Armed Forces of Ukraine service. While in the occupiers’ custody, Olena was tortured. The Russian military wanted to locate her beloved whereabouts. They were also gathering information about people with pro-Ukrainian views. Besides that, Olena was forced into labor slavery by the occupiers, and hostages were pressured to dig trenches. Yahupova did hard labor and lived in inhumane conditions. Olena managed to be freed after more than six months in captivity and is now in Kyiv.

• casualties
• prisoners
• russian crimes

On August 30, the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the Center for Civil Liberties is organizing “VOICES” rally in support of civilian prisoners.

The purpose of this rally is to draw the attention of both the Ukrainian and the global community to the problem of civilians forcibly detained by russia.

The rally will include the following events:

1. A meeting with relatives of civilians detained by russia;

2. Performance by the Actors For Future team, during which actors will show the conditions in which civilians are being kept;

3. Presentation of a brochure containing 50 stories of civilian prisoners, created within the framework of the Prisoners Voice initiative.

Accreditation is required. The rally will take place in Kyiv.

For reference: The Center for Civil Liberties is aware of more than 150 penitentiary facilities in russia and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine that detain civilians abducted during the occupation without reason. The prisoners were kidnapped from their own homes, on the way to the store or from the workplace.

If journalists are interested in the topics and stories of civilian prisoners and need professional comments, they are welcome to contact the Center for Civil Liberties.

• casualties
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Olha was an operating room nurse at the Department of Surgery in Hospital No. 555 in Mariupol. Russia’s full-scale invasion caught her while in Mariupol: she was helping to rescue wounded soldiers and civilians (including children). At that time, the medics did not even have time to sleep.

The enemy bomb hit the hospital on March 16, 2022. (The woman was in the operating room at the moment of the attack. The blast wave blew away her and her colleagues). The next day, the nurse was sent to the Ilich Iron and Steel Works together with other doctors. Under extremely tough conditions, in a bunker, they had to do, among other things, bandages and amputations, and doctors even performed open brain neurosurgery.

On April 12, 2022, the nurse and other doctors were taken prisoner. Olha was held in occupied Olenivka, Russian Taganrog, Valuiky, and Kursk, among other places. She was held in captivity for six months. The woman faced humiliation, interrogations, physical and psychological pressure.

For reference, more than 500 Ukrainian medical professionals are currently detained in Russia. Among them are both civilian and military doctors, according to the Center for Civil Liberties. Journalists can also ask for comments from the Center’s experts.

• doctors
• prisoners
• women

On August 27, a peaceful rally will be held in Kyiv at the initiative of the families of Mariupol border guards held in captivity.

Journalists will have an opportunity to talk in more detail with relatives of captured border guards.

• prisoners
• Kyiv

On August 23, at a briefing at the Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform, wives of Ukrainian captured border guards will tell the stories of their husbands. Journalists will also be able to learn about the struggle that the wives of prisoners are waging to bring their loved ones home. 

Participants:

Yaryna Herasymova, wife of a captured border guard;

Anzhela Zvereva, wife of a POW border guard;

Svitlana Shakirova, wife of a POW border guard;

Svitlana Polishchuk, wife of a POW border guard.

• military
• prisoners
• women