In the city of Dnipro, 200 kilometers from her home, Olga has found some freedom. This Ukrainian woman left the town of Melitopol, in the occupied zone, with her son, after the arrest of her husband Andrii by five armed Russian soldiers. This morning of April 6 remains engraved in her memory today.
“My son was at home and saw everything. They threatened us. They said they were going to shoot us in the legs. There were two soldiers in black uniforms, hooded, and they took my husband away. I was petrified.”
Signs of life on social media
Andri will not return. Olga searches for him in vain for weeks, imagining the worst. But one day, his name and his face appear on a social network.
“Friends called us saying they had seen information on a Telegram account. He said that Andrii is a terrorist and an extremist. What I took with me was that he was alive.
However, relief quickly gives way to concern when a lawyer explains the situation. “He could get life in prison. He could be sent somewhere in Russia and we wouldn’t even know where.”
At least 2,500 Ukrainians detained in Russia
Olga finds it difficult to understand how her husband, a martial arts master and former border guard, could be tried for terrorism. However, according to Center for Civil Libertiesa Ukrainian NGO distinguished by the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, is far from the only one.
“These so-called crimes in Russia do not need to be proven. Trials are held behind closed doors and use secret witnesses: people whom no one sees or knows,” explains Mykhailo Savva, his spokesman.
According to the NGO, at least 2,500 Ukrainians are being held against their will in Russia. 1,032 have been released since the start of the conflict.
Source: BFM TV
