‘Not treated like humans’: Ukrainian women on Russian captivity
2 years, 1 month ago

‘Not treated like humans’: Ukrainian women on Russian captivity

Al Jazeera  

Former prisoners of war, swapped in a recent deal, say they were subjected to starvation and other forms of abuse. “I was glad she wasn’t near me,” she told Al Jazeera, describing how she trusted a total stranger to take Alisa away on a bus. “They” were the Russian servicemen and pro-Russian separatists who interrogated her and roughly 1,000 Ukrainians who emerged from Azovstal, a huge steel plant that was the last Ukrainian holdout in besieged Mariupol. “These people hold nothing sacred,” said Inga Chikinda, a Lithuania-born marine who was among 108 servicewomen and civilians released on October 17 in a POW swap. “Ukraine will get everyone back.” Back in March, the Mariupol apartment building that nurse Obidina and her daughter, Alisa, lived in was being shelled when a Ukrainian serviceman calmly waited for them to pack up and go to a bunker under the Azovstal steel plant.

Women Ukraine Russian Moscow Told Ukrainian Her Mother Donetsk Alisa Mariupol Guseinova Obidina  women  swapped  servicemen  treated  russian  told  captivity  alisa  spent  humans  ukraine  obidina  ukrainian

History of this topic

Thousands in Ukraine honor soldiers killed in blast and urge government to get prisoners freed
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Thousands in Ukraine honor soldiers killed in blast and urge government to get prisoners freed

Associated Press  

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainians urged their government to do more to get Russia to release prisoners of war, voicing their anger on Sunday at a ceremony commemorating the second anniversary of an explosion that killed more than 50. Several thousand soldiers and civilians gathered at Kyiv’s Independence Square Sunday to commemorate the second anniversary of an explosion that killed more …

Thousands of Ukrainians have been sent to Russian prisons. Ukraine says they’re being held as bargaining chips
7 months, 2 weeks ago

Thousands of Ukrainians have been sent to Russian prisons. Ukraine says they’re being held as bargaining chips

CNN  

Kyiv, Ukraine CNN — “Dear mom and dad, I am alive and well. “The rule is that it is not a punishment,” Achille Després from the Kyiv branch of the International Committee of the Red Cross told CNN, adding that civilians can only be held if it’s “necessary” for “imperative reasons of security.” The Ukrainian government and several international organizations …

Ukraine ‘Azov regiment’ prisoners of war go on trial in Russia
1 year, 6 months ago

Ukraine ‘Azov regiment’ prisoners of war go on trial in Russia

Al Jazeera  

Eight women are among the 22 Ukrainian prisoners of war who are accused by Russia of membership in a ‘terrorist group’. The captured soldiers were members of the Azov regiment, an elite Ukrainian armed forces unit that fought against Russian troops for months in the Sea of Azov port of Mariupol. On Wednesday, the court in Russia’s southern Rostov-on-Don started …

Captured Ukrainian soldiers face trial in Russia
1 year, 6 months ago

Captured Ukrainian soldiers face trial in Russia

Associated Press  

MOSCOW — More than 20 Ukrainian soldiers who were taken prisoner during fighting in Ukraine went on trial in southern Russia on Wednesday. The captured soldiers were members of the Azov battalion, an elite Ukrainian armed forces unit that fought Russian troops in the Sea of Azov port of Mariupol. Russia captured Mariupol last year after a three-month battle that …

Russia bombs Ukrainian village market killing two women and injuring seven including 10-year-old
1 year, 11 months ago

Russia bombs Ukrainian village market killing two women and injuring seven including 10-year-old

Daily Mail  

It comes as the Kremlin warned deliveries of Western weapons to Ukraine would only 'deepen the suffering of the Ukrainian people' Rescuers were seen trying to pull bodies from the rubble of a market square Harrowing footage emerged following the strike on Shevchenkove near Kharkiv A shocking Russian missile attack on a village market in eastern Ukraine this morning left …

'Monsters': Ukrainian Women Recount Horror of 'Packed Cells, Hunger, Abuse, Humiliation' in Russian Jails
2 years, 1 month ago

'Monsters': Ukrainian Women Recount Horror of 'Packed Cells, Hunger, Abuse, Humiliation' in Russian Jails

News 18  

When Ukrainian medic Tetyana Vasylchenko was released from Russian captivity and, on the bus back to freedom, handed a Ukrainian flag, she finally broke down. “But when I was given a Ukrainian flag on the bus, I burst out crying.” Vasylchenko and 107 other women were freed from Russian detention last week as part of a long-negotiated prisoner exchange with …

Ukrainian woman’s quest to retrieve body of prisoner of war
2 years, 2 months ago

Ukrainian woman’s quest to retrieve body of prisoner of war

Associated Press  

CHUBYNSKE, Ukraine — In the last, brief conversations Viktoria Skliar had with her detained boyfriend, the Ukrainian prisoner of war was making tentative plans for life after his release in an upcoming exchange with Russia. The next time Skliar saw Oleksii Kisilishin, he was dead — one of several bodies in a photo of people local authorities said were killed …

Inside Olenivka, the Russian prison camp where Ukrainians vanish
2 years, 2 months ago

Inside Olenivka, the Russian prison camp where Ukrainians vanish

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Allan Hogarth, Amnesty International UK’s head of policy and …

Russia, Ukraine trade blame for deadly attack on POW prison
2 years, 4 months ago

Russia, Ukraine trade blame for deadly attack on POW prison

Associated Press  

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia and Ukraine accused each other Friday of shelling a prison in a separatist region of eastern Ukraine, an attack that reportedly killed dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war captured after the fall of Mariupol, the city where troops famously held out against a monthslong Russian siege. Russia claimed that Ukraine’s military used U.S.-supplied rocket launchers to …

Ukrainian troops surrendering at Mariupol registered as POWs
2 years, 7 months ago

Ukrainian troops surrendering at Mariupol registered as POWs

Associated Press  

KYIV, Ukraine — The fate of hundreds of Ukrainian fighters who surrendered after holding out against punishing attacks on Mariupol’s steel factory hung in the balance Thursday, amid international fears that the Russians may take reprisals against the prisoners. Amnesty International said in a tweet that the Ukrainian soldiers are now prisoners of war and as such “must not be …

Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol's Azovstal steelworks have surrendered to Russian troops. Here's what happens next
2 years, 7 months ago

Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol's Azovstal steelworks have surrendered to Russian troops. Here's what happens next

ABC  

Nearly 1,000 Ukrainian fighters who had held out inside Mariupol's pulverised steel plant have surrendered, Russia has said. Key points: Ukrainian prisoners have been taken out of Mariupol under Russian guard There are calls for the Red Cross to be given access to the POWs to make sure they are not being mistreated The plant was the last thing standing …

Fall of Mariupol appears at hand; fighters leave steel plant
2 years, 7 months ago

Fall of Mariupol appears at hand; fighters leave steel plant

Associated Press  

KYIV, Ukraine — Mariupol appeared on the verge of falling to the Russians on Tuesday as Ukraine moved to abandon the steel plant where hundreds of its fighters had held out for months under relentless bombardment in the last bastion of resistance in the devastated city. The Russian bombardment killed over 20,000 civilians, according to Ukraine, and left the remaining …

Ukrainian troops surrender in Mariupol steel plant: Russia
2 years, 7 months ago

Ukrainian troops surrender in Mariupol steel plant: Russia

The Hindu  

Russia said on Tuesday that 265 Ukrainian soldiers, including several dozen wounded troops, surrendered at the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine’s port city of Mariupol. “Over the past 24 hours, 265 militants laid down their arms and surrendered, including 51 heavily wounded,” the defence ministry said. Ukraine’s defence ministry said late Monday that 264 Ukrainian fighters were evacuated to …

Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow's defence ministry says 265 Ukrainian soldiers 'surrendered' at besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol
2 years, 7 months ago

Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow's defence ministry says 265 Ukrainian soldiers 'surrendered' at besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol

Firstpost  

Of the total 265 Ukrainian soldiers, who surrendered at Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, 51 were ‘heavily wounded’ and had been transferred to a hospital in the town of Novoazovsk, Russia’s defence ministry said Russia’s defence ministry on Tuesday that 265 Ukrainian soldiers of which 51 several wounded surrendered at the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine’s port city of …

Russia-Ukraine crisis live updates | Rescue mission under way at Azovstal as hundreds evacuated
2 years, 7 months ago

Russia-Ukraine crisis live updates | Rescue mission under way at Azovstal as hundreds evacuated

The Hindu  

More than 260 Ukrainian fighters, including some who are badly wounded, were evacuated Monday from a steel plant in the ruined city of Mariupol and taken to areas under Russia’s control, the Ukrainian military said. Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday it was working to evacuate all remaining troops from their last stronghold in the besieged port of Mariupol, ceding control …

More than 260 Ukraine troops evacuated from Mariupol plant: Kyiv
2 years, 7 months ago

More than 260 Ukraine troops evacuated from Mariupol plant: Kyiv

Al Jazeera  

Ukrainian defence official says efforts continue to evacuate remaining soldiers from steel plant in besieged port city. More than 260 Ukrainian soldiers have been evacuated from a steel plant in Mariupol, the country’s deputy defence minister said, after a weeks-long standoff with Russian forces in the besieged southern port city. Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes alive.” Al Jazeera’s Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting …

Ukraine offers to release Russian prisoners of war in exchange for hurt Mariupol fighters
2 years, 7 months ago

Ukraine offers to release Russian prisoners of war in exchange for hurt Mariupol fighters

Firstpost  

Ukraine’s top prosecutor said her office charged Russian Sergeant Vadin Shyshimarin, 21, in the killing of a 62-year-old civilian who was gunned down while riding a bicycle Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine: Ukraine offered to release Russian prisoners of war in exchange for the safe evacuation of the badly injured fighters trapped inside a steel mill in the ruined city of Mariupol, as …

Ukraine evacuates civilians from Mariupol's steel plant under siege
2 years, 7 months ago

Ukraine evacuates civilians from Mariupol's steel plant under siege

Firstpost  

Officials announced that the last women, children and older adults had been evacuated from the mill, but Ukrainian fighters remained trapped Russian forces fired cruise missiles at the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa on Saturday and bombarded a besieged steel mill in Mariupol, hoping to complete their conquest of the port in time for Victory Day celebrations. U.S. Secretary of …

Ukraine evacuates civilians from steel plant under siege
2 years, 7 months ago

Ukraine evacuates civilians from steel plant under siege

Associated Press  

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine — Russian forces fired cruise missiles at the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa on Saturday and bombarded a besieged steel mill in Mariupol, hoping to complete their conquest of the port in time for Victory Day celebrations. Western military analysts also said a Ukrainian counteroffensive was advancing around the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, even as it remained a …

Russia-Ukraine war: All civilians evacuate Mariupol’s Azovstal
2 years, 7 months ago

Russia-Ukraine war: All civilians evacuate Mariupol’s Azovstal

Al Jazeera  

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says more than 300 civilians have been rescued from the Mariupol steel plant. Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Saturday that “all women, children and the elderly” have been brought out from underground bunkers in the vast steel mill, where they had hidden from Russian attacks with little food, water or medicine. Ukraine’s President …

Ukraine morning briefing: Five developments as 500 civilians evacuated from Mariupol
2 years, 7 months ago

Ukraine morning briefing: Five developments as 500 civilians evacuated from Mariupol

The Telegraph  

Doctors have been left without drugs to tackle serious illnesses like cancer or unable to perform surgery as hundreds of hospitals have been devastated by the war in Ukraine, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In a video address to a medical charity group, Mr Zelensky said many places lacked even basic antibiotics in eastern and southern Ukraine, the focal points …

Civilians trapped in Mariupol Azovstal steel plant need to be dug out by hand, says Volodymyr Zelenskyy
2 years, 7 months ago

Civilians trapped in Mariupol Azovstal steel plant need to be dug out by hand, says Volodymyr Zelenskyy

ABC  

Ukraine's president says women and children will need to be dug from bunkers under Mariupol's steelworks, as a third evacuation is planned for people trapped in the port city. Key points: Russia says it will pause military activity at the Azovstal plant to allow an estimated 200 civilians to leave A school and kindergarten in Kramatorsk were shelled by Russian …

Ukrainians plead for Mariupol rescue; Russian advance crawls
2 years, 7 months ago

Ukrainians plead for Mariupol rescue; Russian advance crawls

Associated Press  

KHARKIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces fought village by village Saturday to hold back a Russian advance through the country’s east, while the United Nations worked to broker a civilian evacuation from the last defensive stronghold in the bombed-out ruins of the port city of Mariupol. He also called for the evacuation of the wounded: “We don’t know why they are …

Wives of Mariupol defenders appeal for soldiers’ evacuation
2 years, 7 months ago

Wives of Mariupol defenders appeal for soldiers’ evacuation

Associated Press  

ROME — Two Ukrainian women whose husbands are defending a besieged steel plant in the southern city of Mariupol are calling for any evacuation of civilians to also include soldiers, saying they fear the troops will be tortured and killed if left behind and captured by Russian forces. We can’t only talk about civilians,” said Yuliia Fedusiuk, 29, the wife …

‘You’ll help us find others’: Ukrainian rape victim ordered to help Russian troops hunt for women
2 years, 7 months ago

‘You’ll help us find others’: Ukrainian rape victim ordered to help Russian troops hunt for women

The Telegraph  

The hunt for Ukrainian women to rape began at Anna's house. She had just fallen asleep next to her husband on the kitchen floor of their home in a small village near Borodyanka when the Russian soldiers started banging on her door. Anna dragged herself off the mattress in the only room warm enough to sleep in since the electricity …

200 civilians still in besieged Mariupol, Ukraine calls for 'urgent' evacuations
2 years, 8 months ago

200 civilians still in besieged Mariupol, Ukraine calls for 'urgent' evacuations

Hindustan Times  

Mayor of Mariupol Vadym Boichenko said around 200 people were waiting to evacuate from the besieged Ukrainian city on Thursday but no buses had arrived as of mid-afternoon. The Ukrainian foreign ministry, meanwhile, called for a humanitarian corridor to be opened immediately to allow civilians and wounded fighters to be evacuated from the Azovstal plant holding out against Russian forces. …

Some civilians leave as Russians tighten noose on Mariupol
2 years, 8 months ago

Some civilians leave as Russians tighten noose on Mariupol

Deccan Chronicle  

KYIV: Only four buses with civilians managed to escape from Mariupol after several unsuccessful attempts, Ukrainian officials said Thursday, as thousands more remained trapped under relentless Russian attacks against the last pockets of Ukrainian resistance in the devastated southern port city. Head of the Kyiv regional police, Andriy Nebytov, said two women and a teenager were among the “civilians killed …

April 19, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news
2 years, 8 months ago

April 19, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

CNN  

The Russian Ministry of Defense issued a statement Tuesday claiming that Russian forces had opened an evacuation corridor around the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, a claim dismissed by a Ukrainian police official on the scene. “Given the catastrophic situation that has developed at the Azovstal metallurgical plant in the city of Mariupol, and also guided by purely humane …

Russian soldiers forcibly conscripting Mariupol men, says Ukraine
2 years, 8 months ago

Russian soldiers forcibly conscripting Mariupol men, says Ukraine

The Telegraph  

Russian soldiers have begun forcibly mobilising men in Mariupol to fight for Russia's army, according to the Ukrainian government. Lyudmila Denisova, the ombudsman for Ukraine, said that "on the outskirts of Mariupol, which is temporarily controlled by Russian militants, the occupiers began forcibly mobilising men". Ms Denisova said: "Forced mobilisation in Russian-occupied territories violates Article 51 of the Geneva Convention, …

As Mariupol hangs on, the extent of the horror not yet known
2 years, 9 months ago

As Mariupol hangs on, the extent of the horror not yet known

Associated Press  

LVIV, Ukraine — As Mariupol’s defenders held out Monday against Russian demands that they surrender, the number of bodies in the rubble of the bombarded and encircled Ukrainian city remained shrouded in uncertainty, the full extent of the horror not yet known. “What’s happening in Mariupol is a massive war crime,” European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. “Resistance …

Ukraine sees room for compromise, as 20,000 escape Mariupol
2 years, 9 months ago

Ukraine sees room for compromise, as 20,000 escape Mariupol

Associated Press  

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine said it saw possible room for compromise in talks with Russia despite Moscow’s stepped up bombardment Tuesday of Kyiv and new assaults on the port city of Mariupol, from where an estimated 20,000 civilians managed to flee through a humanitarian corridor. After delegations from Ukraine and Russia met again Tuesday via video, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy …

ICRC warns besieged Ukrainian city Mariupol faces 'worst-case scenario' as it pushes for humanitarian action
2 years, 9 months ago

ICRC warns besieged Ukrainian city Mariupol faces 'worst-case scenario' as it pushes for humanitarian action

ABC  

Messages had been trickling out of the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol last week, some simply with the assurance: "We're alive". Local officials said a convoy of more than 160 cars left Mariupol on Monday, local time, in what appeared to be the first successful attempt to arrange a "humanitarian corridor" to evacuate civilians from the encircled Ukrainian city. …

Russia shells mosque housing 80 civilians in Mariupol: Ukraine
2 years, 9 months ago

Russia shells mosque housing 80 civilians in Mariupol: Ukraine

Al Jazeera  

Kyiv says more than 80 people, including Turkish citizens, were seeking refuge at the mosque when it was bombarded. Russian forces have shelled a mosque in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, where more than 80 adults and children have taken refuge, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Saturday. “The mosque of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Roxolana …

Ukrainian woman who fled Mariupol hospital bombing gives birth during Russian assault
2 years, 9 months ago

Ukrainian woman who fled Mariupol hospital bombing gives birth during Russian assault

ABC  

A Ukrainian woman who fled the remains of a Mariupol maternity hospital shelled by Russian forces has given birth to a daughter. Key points: Ukrainian women had to flee a maternity hospital after a Russian airstrike At least two have since given birth City officials say the Russians are "killing as much citizen as they can" On the eve of …

‘Hell’ in Ukraine’s Mariupol as Russians ‘attack every 30 mins’
2 years, 9 months ago

‘Hell’ in Ukraine’s Mariupol as Russians ‘attack every 30 mins’

Al Jazeera  

Evacuations from port city, as well as efforts to send food and water there, fail as officials accuse Russia of launching attacks ‘every 30 minutes’. Civilians trapped in Ukraine’s Mariupol have gone through “two days of hell”, a local official said on Friday, claiming Russian attacks “every 30 minutes” have scuppered any attempt at evacuations from the besieged port city. …

‘Atrocity’ as maternity hospital in besieged Mariupol destroyed by Russian air strikes
2 years, 9 months ago

‘Atrocity’ as maternity hospital in besieged Mariupol destroyed by Russian air strikes

The Telegraph  

Sergiy Orlov, the deputy mayor of Mariupol, said the city was under bombardment from "continuous Russian shelling”. “How many more children must die to convince Russian troops to stop firing and allow humanitarian corridors?” she wrote on Instagram. In an open letter published on social media, Mrs Zelenska added: “You have most likely all seen these images from Kyiv and …

Ukrainian maternity ward moves to basement for shelter
2 years, 9 months ago

Ukrainian maternity ward moves to basement for shelter

Associated Press  

MARIUPOL, Ukraine — In a makeshift maternity ward in the basement of a Ukrainian hospital, new mother Kateryna Suharokova struggled to control her emotions as she held her son while doctors upstairs raced to treat victims of Russian shelling. I believe that everything will be fine.” The basement of the maternity hospital in Ukraine’s coastal city of Mariupol transformed into …

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