With the beginning of the great war, political prisoners, their relatives and friends lost the opportunity to correspond with each other. Handwritten letters were often the only way for relatives to communicate with each other during the period of separation that lasted so long.

Today, every letter received from a prisoner is a treasure. Activist Vira Fedorova has the opportunity to correspond with Ukrainians convicted by the terrorist state.

‍Halyna Dovhopola writes that she is worried that she will not be able to move to a penal colony until November because she has received several reprimands. Halyna also writes that she very much wants white bread, buns, marmalades, low-fat cookies, thin pita bread, greenery and coffee.

‍Volodymyr Yakymenko and Volodymyr Dudka write that they are not losing their fortitude. In the terrible conditions of captivity, the men read and discover many new things for themselves. Volodymyr Dudka studies the biography and career of the Ukrainian pianist Sviatoslav Richter.

After two novels by Remarque, Volodymyr Yakymenko is reading the book “Gods, Tombs, Scientists”, about the great archaeological discoveries that made it possible to learn history of the most ancient civilizations.

‍Let us briefly recall the prisoners.

‍Halyna Dovhopola stayed in Crimea after the temporary occupation of the peninsula in 2014. The woman made no secret of her support for Ukraine and her opposition to the occupiers. In 2019, she was arrested and charged with treason. She was soon sentenced to 12 years in prison.

‍Volodymyr Yakymenko is a taxi driver and AutoMaidan activist from Kherson region. He was detained by russian special services in 2017. He was planted with drugs, and after his arrest, he was tortured to provide information about the Ukrainian military, whom Volodymyr had been cooperating with for a long time. The occupiers sentenced Volodymyr to 15,5 years in prison.

In 2016, Volodymyr Dudka was accused of preparing sabotage in the annexed Crimea on the order of Ukrainian intelligence. The prosecution of the prisoner is based solely on torture and falsification of evidence. Despite intense pressure, Dudka did not plead guilty. In April 2019, he was sentenced to 14 years of strict regime detention.