The story of a resident of the Zaporizhzhia region who is still in Russian captivity. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russian troops entered one of the villages in the Vasylivskyi district of the Zaporizhzhia region without a fight.

In the first days of the occupation, they actively searched for former military personnel, police officers and ATO participants, checking men at checkpoints.

On 27 February 2022, a local resident disappeared on his way home. He was last seen walking to visit friends. He was probably stopped for a document check at one of the checkpoints, where a large column of Russian military equipment was passing at the time.

His family immediately began searching for him, but received no response to their appeals to the occupiers. A few months later, his photo in military uniform appeared on pro-Russian Telegram channels, even though he had no connection to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Subsequently, there were reports from people who saw him in places of detention in occupied Melitopol, and then in colonies in the Vladimir region and Mordovia. Those released from captivity say that the conditions there are inhumane: 16 hours standing in a cell, no walks, and meagre food rations. The occupying authorities have not announced any official charges. His relatives continue to send requests to Ukrainian and international institutions and have received confirmation of his captivity, but still have no information about his health. According to those who have seen him recently, he is holding up, but is very worried about his family.

The documentation of war crimes is carried out with the financial support of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC). The views and conclusions expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the NHC.

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