Russia has been holding thousands of Ukrainian civilians behind bars for years, in breach of international humanitarian law. Families have been fighting for their loved ones to be released, some for more than a decade.
https://p.dw.com/p/5C0BqTens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians have simply disappeared into Russia's prison system where they are tortured and abused, sometimes for decadesImage: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty ImagesAdvertisementLarisa Shevandin hasn't seen her husband Oleh for 11 years. An athlete and the president of a local martial arts association in his hometown of Debaltseve, eastern Ukraine, Oleh was abducted in May 2015. The city was already part of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic" at the time, having been named this by Kremlin-backed, pro-Russian separatists a year prior. The two spoke twice within the first 24 hours of his arrest, then never again.
According to eyewitness accounts gathered by Shevandin, masked men with guns stopped her husband on the street, dragged him out of his car, put a sack over his head, and sped away with him in their vehicle.
Shevandin conducted her own research into the circumstances of her husband's disappearance, during which time she also founded the Ukraine advocacy organization, Return Home. She says her husband's case was the subject of discussion at the UN's Committee on Enforced Disappearances.
"Unfortunately, the UN has no way to exert direct influence. So despite their efforts, he remains imprisoned," says Shevandin. "Eleven years in a Russian prison is a long time. They say every day is hell — but then you have to multiply that by 365, and then by another 11."
Oleh Shevandin's arrest was one of the first reported in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. His name is on the list for a possible prisoner exchange but he has not been heard from, lacks legal representation and is being held without formal charges.
Most Ukrainian civilians currently held prisoner by Russia — and there are many — share a similar fate. Tens of thousands simply disappeared at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. Human rights organizations estimate that at least 16,000 Ukrainian non-combatants ended up in Russian prisons.
Arbitrary arrest is a violation of international humanitarian law. Civilians are non-combatants and are protected under the Fourth Geneva Convention. "Logically, the Geneva Convention forbids countries from invading another's sovereign territory and arbitrarily arresting and jailing its citizens," as Yurii Kovbasa, representative of the Ukrainian parliament's Commissioner for Human Rights, told DW.
Russia justifies arrests by claiming those detained were "resisting the special military operation," says Mikhail Savva of the Ukraine-based Center for Civil Liberties. "These people have no legal status at all. Not only is their imprisonment a violation of international law, it's also a violation of Russian law."
Kovbasa says there is another category of prisoner in Russia as well, those whose status has been confirmed to the International Committee of the Red Cross. "Those are citizens who may have been framed for 'terrorism' or other criminal charges," he says.
Activist and journalist Serhiy Tsyhipa is one of the many people to have fallen into that second category. After going into retirement in 2021, Tsyhipa began writing fairy tales about his hometown, Nova Kakhovka, in Ukraine's Kherson region. In one of the tales, a water fairy abducts a figure based on the author himself. The prisoner can only be freed with the aid of seven hidden keys.
The tale, however, would soon become a real-life nightmare. When Russian troops occupied Nova Kakhovka in early 2022, Tsyhipa stayed to help organize humanitarian assistance and to inform the outside world about the situation on the ground there via social media. He was abducted on March 12, 2022. According to the Russian human rights organization Memorial, he was detained without charges for months. It was not until December 26, 2022, that he was charged with espionage. Memorial says Tsyhipa is a political prisoner.
After his arrest, Tsyhipa's wife Olena began searching for the "magic keys" that would set him free. Olena Tsyhipa describes herself as a "freelance human rights activist" and is involved in the Civilians in Captivity initiative. She regularly participates in activities aimed at helping imprisoned civilians. "I know it wouldn't make his fate any easier if I just sat around and cried," she says.
Keeping in touch with her husband has been extremely difficult. The last letter she received was in February, even though she writes every week and sends paper for him to use for his reply. "Not getting letters from him could mean he is not getting letters from me," she says. It's also possible that her husband's health has deteriorated. "They are held in cold, damp conditions. That means that they are all suffering, Ukrainian civilians and soldiers, not just my Serhiy."
According to the UN and human rights activists, Ukrainians held in Russia or Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine — both prisoners of war and civilians — are systematically abused and tortured by Russian forces.
"Torture and mistreatment — our defenders… men and women, soldiers and civilians… they all report it when they return from prison. They all say it happens," says the Ukrainian parliament's Yurii Kovbasa.
Mikhail Savva of the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties says most of those arrested had been involved in civic activities. Those standing up for the rights of imprisoned civilians report that some of those detained worked as volunteers, as emergency evacuation drivers, or were just open about their pro-Ukrainian views.
"They are a threat to the occupiers because they could potentially become the nucleus for organized resistance," explains Savva, adding that mass arrests also intimidate the citizenry. "You literally demonstrate that the same thing can happen to anybody, that you can just be disappeared."
Retired army officer Serhiy Likhomanov vanished for nearly two months when armed men stormed his apartment in Sevastopol, in Russian-occupied Crimea, in late 2023 and took him to an undisclosed location. His family later found out that he had been imprisoned. Russia accuses Likhomanov of treason, as well as planning a terror attack. Rights group Memorial sees the case as a serious violation of the law and suspects a politically motivated persecution.
"I want my brother to have the chance to live a normal life, not one in prison. He doesn't deserve that. He did nothing wrong," said Likhomanov's sister, Tetiana Zelena. "I think he was arrested because he used to be a Ukrainian soldier."
Selena quit her job to fight full-time for her brother's release. She says she'll keep up the fight for Ukrainian prisoners even if her brother is one day free. "My daughter asks me if I will keep doing this even if Serhiy is freed. I always say, 'I don't know.' Then she says she knows me too well to believe that." Tatiana Selena laughs and says her daughter is right. She says she won't quit. Not until the loved ones of all those other families she has met over the years are free, too.
Up to 30,000 Ukrainian civilians languish in Russian prisonsTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
This article was translated from German by Jon Shelton
