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The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Concerns grow for 3 OSCE workers jailed since shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine
It was late at night when they came for Dmytro Shabanov, a security assistant in eastern Ukraine at the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. His seizure from his home in the Luhansk region in April 2022 — weeks after Moscow 's full-scale invasion — was part of a coordinated operation by pro- Russian forces who detained him and two other Ukrainian OSCE workers. Maksym Petrov, an interpreter, also was seized in the Luhansk region, while Vadym Golda, another security assistant, was detained in neighboring Donetsk. More than three years later, the three Ukrainian civilians who had worked with the international group's ceasefire monitoring efforts in the eastern regions remain behind bars. They have not been part of recent large-scale prisoner exchanges with Russia. Their detention has raised alarm among OSCE officials, Western nations and human rights advocates, who demand their immediate release while expressing concern about their health and prison conditions amid allegations of torture. The Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian mission to the OSCE did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press on those allegations or on OSCE personnel having immunity from prosecution as international civil servants. Rapidly unfolding events in 2022 'He was taken from his home after the curfew took effect,' said Margaryta Shabanova, Shabanov's wife, who lives in Kyiv. 'I had a last call with him around 20 minutes before it happened.' After his arrest, Shabanov disappeared for three months, held incommunicado by Russian separatists and interrogated in a Luhansk prison until he was forced to sign a confession. That fateful night turned Shabanova's life upside down. 'Every morning, I wake up hoping that today will be different -- that today I will hear that my Dima is free,' she said. 'Painfully, days stretch on, and nothing changes. The waiting, the not knowing, the endless hope slowly turning into quiet despair.' Fighting back tears, Shabanova describes life without her husband. 'The silence at the dinner table, the birthdays and holidays have been missed for over three years. People say to me that I am strong, but they don't see the moments I collapse behind closed doors,' she said. The Vienna-based OSCE monitors ceasefires, observes elections, and promotes democracy and arms control, and Shabanov 'really liked his job' at the international organization, said his wife, especially working with the foreign staff. She said her husband believed that 'international service could protect lives and make the world a little more just.' The OSCE had operated a ceasefire monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Moscow separatists had been fighting Ukrainian government troops since 2014, with about 14,000 killed even before the full-scale invasion. The monitors watched for truce violations, facilitated dialogue and brokered local halts in fighting to enable repairs to critical civilian infrastructure. But on March 31, 2022, Russia blocked the extension of the OSCE mission, and separatist leaders declared it illegal the following month. It remains unclear whether the three detained OSCE staffers had tried to flee eastern Ukraine. Locally recruited Ukrainians like Shabanov, Petrov and Golda worked in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions to help shut down the OSCE mission. They cleared offices, safeguarded OSCE assets, including armored vehicles, drones and cameras, and oversaw evacuations of their international colleagues. That operation was completed by October 2022. Convictions and prison sentences The three men were arrested despite carrying documents confirming their immunity, the OSCE said. Shabanov and Petrov were convicted of treason by a Russian-controlled court in Luhansk in September 2022 and sentenced to 13 years in prison. Golda, 57, was convicted of espionage by a court in Donetsk, also under Moscow's control, in July 2024 and sentenced to 14 years. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in November 2022 it believed the activities of the OSCE monitors 'were often not only biased but also illegal.' Without identifying the three Ukrainian OSCE staff by name, the ministry alleged that local residents were recruited by the West to collect information for the Ukrainian military and 'several' were detained. The OSCE condemned the sentences and called for the immediate release of the three men, asserting they were performing their official duties as mandated by all of its 57 member states, including Russia. Seven months after the invasion, Russia illegally annexed the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, despite not fully controlling them. On March 27, 2025, Russia transferred Shabanov from a detention facility in the Luhansk region to a high-security penal colony in Russia's Omsk region in Siberia, according to Ievgeniia Kapalkina, a lawyer with the Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group who represents the Shabanov and Petrov families. Petrov remains at risk of being moved to Russia, she said. Penal colonies in Siberia are known for harsh conditions, where 'prisoners often lose all contact with the outside world, effectively 'disappearing' within Russia's penal system,' the legal group said in March. "Given their existing health issues, the lack of proper medical care in remote regions could prove fatal,' it added. Allegations of beatings, psychological pressure Ukrainian human rights activist Maksym Butkevych, who was in the same Luhansk penal colony with Shabanov and Petrov from March 2024 until being released in October 2024, said both men were tortured during interrogation. Shabanov was 'beaten several times during the interrogations until he lost consciousness and was subjected to extreme psychological pressure,' he said. Butkevych said Shabanov, 38, has problems with his back and legs. "He had to lie down at least for couple of hours every day due to pain,' he added. Petrov, 45, has 'a lot of health issues,' Butkevych said, including allergies worsened by his captivity, "specifically the interrogation period.' Kapalkina said both men were 'subjected to repeated unlawful interrogations during which they suffered severe physical and physiological abuse' and eventually 'signed confessions under coercion.' The allegations of torture could not be independently verified by the AP. Bargaining chips for Russia? Butkevych suggested the three imprisoned OSCE workers, who are not prisoners of war, are likely 'bargaining chips' for Moscow, to be 'exchanged for someone or something significantly important for Russia.' Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, the current chairperson of the OSCE, said in a statement to AP that imprisoning civilian officials of an international organization "is completely unacceptable." "Securing their release is a top priority for the Finnish OSCE Chairpersonship,' she said. OSCE Secretary General Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu is 'very closely and personally engaged on this matter,' a spokesperson said, noting he traveled to Moscow in March and raised the issue with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Yurii Vitrenko, Ukraine's ambassador to International Organizations in Vienna, called for the unconditional release of the three, saying they should 'never have been illegally detained' by Russia, should 'never have been put on a fake trial,' and should 'never have been handed illegal sentences." Vitrenko suggested that other states with more influence with Russia should exert more pressure to help secure their release. He did not identify those countries. Shabanova said she regularly asks 'those who have the power' to take action. 'Do not look away,' she said, adding that the OSCE and the international community must ask themselves why their actions have not led to the release of her husband. Her only wish, she said, is "to see my Dima walk through the door, just to hold his hand again, to look into his eyes and say, 'You are home now. It's over.''
Associated Press
a day ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Concerns grow for 3 OSCE workers jailed since shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine
VIENNA (AP) — It was late at night when they came for Dmytro Shabanov, a security assistant in eastern Ukraine at the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. His seizure from his home in the Luhansk region in April 2022 — weeks after Moscow's full-scale invasion — was part of a coordinated operation by pro-Russian forces who detained him and two other Ukrainian OSCE workers. Maksym Petrov, an interpreter, also was seized in the Luhansk region, while Vadym Golda, another security assistant, was detained in neighboring Donetsk. More than three years later, the three Ukrainian civilians who had worked with the international group's ceasefire monitoring efforts in the eastern regions remain behind bars. They have not been part of recent large-scale prisoner exchanges with Russia. Their detention has raised alarm among OSCE officials, Western nations and human rights advocates, who demand their immediate release while expressing concern about their health and prison conditions amid allegations of torture. The Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian mission to the OSCE did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press on those allegations or on OSCE personnel having immunity from prosecution as international civil servants. Rapidly unfolding events in 2022 'He was taken from his home after the curfew took effect,' said Margaryta Shabanova, Shabanov's wife, who lives in Kyiv. 'I had a last call with him around 20 minutes before it happened.' After his arrest, Shabanov disappeared for three months, held incommunicado by Russian separatists and interrogated in a Luhansk prison until he was forced to sign a confession. That fateful night turned Shabanova's life upside down. 'Every morning, I wake up hoping that today will be different -- that today I will hear that my Dima is free,' she said. 'Painfully, days stretch on, and nothing changes. The waiting, the not knowing, the endless hope slowly turning into quiet despair.' Fighting back tears, Shabanova describes life without her husband. 'The silence at the dinner table, the birthdays and holidays have been missed for over three years. People say to me that I am strong, but they don't see the moments I collapse behind closed doors,' she said. The Vienna-based OSCE monitors ceasefires, observes elections, and promotes democracy and arms control, and Shabanov 'really liked his job' at the international organization, said his wife, especially working with the foreign staff. She said her husband believed that 'international service could protect lives and make the world a little more just.' The OSCE had operated a ceasefire monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Moscow separatists had been fighting Ukrainian government troops since 2014, with about 14,000 killed even before the full-scale invasion. The monitors watched for truce violations, facilitated dialogue and brokered local halts in fighting to enable repairs to critical civilian infrastructure. But on March 31, 2022, Russia blocked the extension of the OSCE mission, and separatist leaders declared it illegal the following month. It remains unclear whether the three detained OSCE staffers had tried to flee eastern Ukraine. Locally recruited Ukrainians like Shabanov, Petrov and Golda worked in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions to help shut down the OSCE mission. They cleared offices, safeguarded OSCE assets, including armored vehicles, drones and cameras, and oversaw evacuations of their international colleagues. That operation was completed by October 2022. Convictions and prison sentences The three men were arrested despite carrying documents confirming their immunity, the OSCE said. Shabanov and Petrov were convicted of treason by a Russian-controlled court in Luhansk in September 2022 and sentenced to 13 years in prison. Golda, 57, was convicted of espionage by a court in Donetsk, also under Moscow's control, in July 2024 and sentenced to 14 years. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in November 2022 it believed the activities of the OSCE monitors 'were often not only biased but also illegal.' Without identifying the three Ukrainian OSCE staff by name, the ministry alleged that local residents were recruited by the West to collect information for the Ukrainian military and 'several' were detained. The OSCE condemned the sentences and called for the immediate release of the three men, asserting they were performing their official duties as mandated by all of its 57 member states, including Russia. Seven months after the invasion, Russia illegally annexed the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, despite not fully controlling them. On March 27, 2025, Russia transferred Shabanov from a detention facility in the Luhansk region to a high-security penal colony in Russia's Omsk region in Siberia, according to Ievgeniia Kapalkina, a lawyer with the Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group who represents the Shabanov and Petrov families. Petrov remains at risk of being moved to Russia, she said. Penal colonies in Siberia are known for harsh conditions, where 'prisoners often lose all contact with the outside world, effectively 'disappearing' within Russia's penal system,' the legal group said in March. 'Given their existing health issues, the lack of proper medical care in remote regions could prove fatal,' it added. Allegations of beatings, psychological pressure Ukrainian human rights activist Maksym Butkevych, who was in the same Luhansk penal colony with Shabanov and Petrov from March 2024 until being released in October 2024, said both men were tortured during interrogation. Shabanov was 'beaten several times during the interrogations until he lost consciousness and was subjected to extreme psychological pressure,' he said. Butkevych said Shabanov, 38, has problems with his back and legs. 'He had to lie down at least for couple of hours every day due to pain,' he added. Petrov, 45, has 'a lot of health issues,' Butkevych said, including allergies worsened by his captivity, 'specifically the interrogation period.' Kapalkina said both men were 'subjected to repeated unlawful interrogations during which they suffered severe physical and physiological abuse' and eventually 'signed confessions under coercion.' The allegations of torture could not be independently verified by the AP. Bargaining chips for Russia? Butkevych suggested the three imprisoned OSCE workers, who are not prisoners of war, are likely 'bargaining chips' for Moscow, to be 'exchanged for someone or something significantly important for Russia.' Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, the current chairperson of the OSCE, said in a statement to AP that imprisoning civilian officials of an international organization 'is completely unacceptable.' 'Securing their release is a top priority for the Finnish OSCE Chairpersonship,' she said. OSCE Secretary General Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu is 'very closely and personally engaged on this matter,' a spokesperson said, noting he traveled to Moscow in March and raised the issue with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Yurii Vitrenko, Ukraine's ambassador to International Organizations in Vienna, called for the unconditional release of the three, saying they should 'never have been illegally detained' by Russia, should 'never have been put on a fake trial,' and should 'never have been handed illegal sentences.' Vitrenko suggested that other states with more influence with Russia should exert more pressure to help secure their release. He did not identify those countries. Shabanova said she regularly asks 'those who have the power' to take action. 'Do not look away,' she said, adding that the OSCE and the international community must ask themselves why their actions have not led to the release of her husband. Her only wish, she said, is 'to see my Dima walk through the door, just to hold his hand again, to look into his eyes and say, 'You are home now. It's over.''
Washington Post
a day ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Concerns grow for 3 OSCE workers jailed since shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine
VIENNA — It was late at night when they came for Dmytro Shabanov, a security assistant in eastern Ukraine at the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. His seizure from his home in the Luhansk region in April 2022 — weeks after Moscow's full-scale invasion — was part of a coordinated operation by pro-Russian forces who detained him and two other Ukrainian OSCE workers. Maksym Petrov, an interpreter, also was seized in the Luhansk region, while Vadym Golda, another security assistant, was detained in neighboring Donetsk.
BBC News
20-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
How Russians dey force Ukrainian children to love Russia
For occupied areas of eastern Ukraine, dem dey teach pikin early to love Russia. For one nursery school for Luhansk, ova 70 young children line up and hold one long black and orange Russia military banner for di shape of letter Z, wey be di symbol of Russia invasion of Ukraine. Across di city, seven small girls dey jump up and down and point to Russian flag to di song, "I am Russian" wey dey play from loudspeakers. Wen di music come stop, dem go shout to gada: "I be Russian." For one occupied town wey dem dey call Anthracite, nursery school pikin dem don make trench candles and blankets for Russian sojas. Na all part of one campaign wey no just wan erase Ukraine national identity, but also wan turn young Ukrainians against dia own kontri. To do dat wit children, you need teachers and many Ukrainian teachers don run, di goment for Moscow don dey offer lump amount of 2m roubles (£18,500) to Russian teachers wey like relocate to di occupied parts of Ukraine. Di biggest and most powerful Russian organisation wey get hand inside na Yunarmia (Youth Army). Dem dey linked wit di Russian defence ministry and dem dey accept members wey dey as young as eight years old. Dem dey work throughout Russia and now get branches for di occupied areas of Ukraine. Fidal Bikbulatov wey dey run di Yunarmia section for di occupied areas for di Zaporizhzhia region for south-east Ukraine. Bikbulatov bin dey deployed from Russia Bashkortostan wia e bin dey head di "Youth Guard" division of di ruling United Russia party. Education, military training dey part of how Russia dey indoctrinate Ukraine children Di EU don sanction Yunarmia and Bikbulatov gan-gan say dem dey "militarize Ukrainian pikin dem". Yunarmia also dey targeted by UK sanctions say dem dey part of Russia campaign to "brainwash" Ukrainian pikin dem. No be only Yunarmia dey rum am. Oda Russian sponsored organisations wey don enta include "Movement of di First Ones" and "Warrior", wey be network of centres for "di military and athletic training and patriotic education of young pipo" wey di orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin set up. Dis groups dey arrange competitions like di Zarnitsa games wey get im origin for di Soviet era wia dem dey make Ukrainian pikin dem to demonstrate "general military literacy, knowledge of Russian statehood and military history, firearms firing skills". As di pikin dem dey grow for dia schooling, dem dey teach dem in Russian, wit Russian curriculum and textbooks wey justify di Russia war against Ukraine. One of di books show Ukraine as Western invention wey dem create to spite Russia and argue say human civilisation for end if Russia no invade Ukraine for 2022. Lisa wey go school for occupied Donetsk say students dia bin dey forced to attend events wey celebrate Russia and di USSR. Lisa say, "wen dem bin dey prepare one kain parade. Me, my whole class and di whole of my year bin dey forced to go evri weekend, go train. We bin need to hold posters. I no fit say no, no be my choice. Dem tell me say I need to do am if I wan graduate". She add say, "evri time lessons start, our teachers go make us stand up put hand for chest and listen to di Russian anthem wey she also make us cram join." Lisa now dey stay for di US and don dey post her experiences for TikTok. Serving Russian sojas also get role for di campaign of indoctrination, say dem dey go schools to teach "bravery lessons". Dem dey glorify dia work for di war and show Ukrainian forces as violent, unruly neo-Nazis. Pavel Tropkin, wey be official for di ruling United Russia party wey no base for di occupied part of Kherson region tok say, dis teachings "na so di pikin dem go fit understand di objectives" of wetin di Kremlin dey call "di special military operation" for Ukraine. Outside school, dem dey carry Ukrainian children to go see specially organised exhibitions wey dey glorify Russia and di "special military operation". One centre wey dey run dis kain trips dey host exhibitions wey dem dey call "Russia - My History" and "Special Military Operation Heroes" for Melitopol for Zaporizhzhia region. Di trips no dey end dia. Di Kremlin don also launch one big campaign wey go carry Ukrainian pikin dem on tours to go Russia as part of efforts to ginger pro-Russian thinking. Russia culture minister, Olga Lyubimova claim say ova 20,000 pikin dem from di occupied Ukrainian territories go Russia for one programme wey dem dey call "4+85". According to Russian goment concert agency Rosconcert, wey dey run di programme, dem wan "join di new generations into di unified Russian society". But Russia "integration" campaign big pass just indoctrination. Thousands of Ukrainian children wey dem carry go Russia for di three years of di full scale war, dem no allow dem come back. Ukrainian goment say ova 19,000 Ukrainian children don dey deported by force to Russia. UK goment say say like 6,000 Ukrainian pikin na im dem don move to network of "re-education camps" for Russia. International humanitarian law ban activities like dis. For example, di Fourth Geneva Convention tok say occupying power no suppose enlist children "for formations or organizations subordinate to it" and say dem fit apply "no pressure or propaganda wey go aim to secure voluntary enlistment" of locals for occupied areas to join dia armed or auxiliary forces. For 2023, di ICC put out arrest warrant for President Putin and part of di reason na di unlawful deportation of children. Putin and im goment deny di charges. For dis war wey dem dey run for Ukraine, Russia no dey only come for territory, dem dey also try stamp diaselves for di pipo wey dey live for dia, no mata how young dem be.
BBC News
19-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Parades, flags and songs: The campaign to force Ukrainian children to love Russia
Being taught to love Russia starts early for children in occupied areas of eastern a nursery school in Luhansk, more than 70 youngsters line up holding a long black and orange Russian military banner in the shape of a letter Z, the symbol of Russia's invasion of the city, seven little girls jump up and down and gesture in front of a Russian flag to the brash song "I am Russian" that blares out of loudspeakers. When the music stops they shout out together: "I'm Russian."In an occupied town called Anthracite, nursery school children have made trench candles and blankets for Russian is all part of a campaign that seeks not only to erase Ukraine's national identity, but also turn young Ukrainians against their own do that with children you need teachers, and as many Ukrainian teachers have fled, the government in Moscow has begun offering lump-sums of 2m roubles (£18,500) to Russian teaching staff willing to relocate to occupied parts of biggest and most powerful Russian organisation involved with children is Yunarmia (Youth Army).Affiliated with the Russian defence ministry, it accepts members as young as eight. It operates across all of Russia, and now has branches in occupied areas of Ukraine."We're providing children with some basic skills which they'll find useful should they decide to join military service," says Fidail Bikbulatov, who runs Yunarmia's section in occupied areas of the Zaporizhzhia region in south-east was deployed from Russia's Bashkortostan, where he headed the "Youth Guard" division of the ruling United Russia party. The EU has sanctioned Yunarmia, and Bikbulatov personally, for "the militarisation of Ukrainian children". Yunarmia is also targeted by UK sanctions for being part of Russia's campaign of "brainwashing" Ukrainian is not alone. Other Russian state-sponsored organisations that have moved in include "Movement of the First Ones" and "Warrior", a network of centres for "the military and athletic training, and patriotic education of young people" set up on Russian President Vladimir Putin's groups organise competitions such as Zarnitsa games rooted in the Soviet era, where Ukrainian children are required to demonstrate "general military literacy, knowledge of Russian statehood and military history, firearms firing skills".As the children progress through the education system, they are taught in Russian, using the Russian curriculum and textbooks that justify Russia's war against such book portrays Ukraine as little more than a Western invention created to spite Russia, and argues that human civilisation would have possibly ended had Russia not invaded Ukraine in who attended a school in occupied Donetsk, says students there were forced to take part in events celebrating Russia and the USSR."When they were preparing a parade of some sort, I, the whole of my class and the whole of my year were forced to attend every weekend and train. We had to hold posters. I could not say no, it wasn't my choice. I was told I had to do it to graduate," Lisa says."Every time lessons started, our teacher made us stand up, put a hand on our hearts and listen to the Russian anthem, which she made us learn by heart, too."Lisa now lives in the US and has been posting about her experiences on TikTok. Serving Russian soldiers also play a role in the campaign of indoctrination, visiting schools to give so-called "bravery lessons". They glorify their exploits at war and depict Ukrainian forces as violent, unruly Tropkin, an official from the ruling United Russia party now based in the occupied part of Kherson region, says these lessons are held "so that children understand the objectives" of what the Kremlin calls "the special military operation" in school, Ukrainian children are taken to see specially organised exhibitions glorifying Russia and the "special military operation".One centre catering for such trips is hosting exhibitions called "Russia - My History" and "Special Military Operation Heroes" in Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia trips do not stop Kremlin has also launched a big campaign to take Ukrainian children on tours of Russia as part of efforts to instil pro-Russian culture minister Olga Lyubimova claims that more than 20,000 children from occupied Ukrainian territories have been taken to Russia under one programme alone, called "4+85". According to the Russian government's concert agency Rosconcert, which runs the programme, it seeks to "integrate the new generation into a unified Russian society".However, Russia's "integration" campaign goes far beyond of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the three years of the full-scale invasion have not been allowed to to the Ukrainian government, more than 19,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported to Russia. The UK government estimates that some 6,000 Ukrainian children have been relocated to a network of "re-education camps" in humanitarian law bans activities like this. For example, the Fourth Geneva Convention says that an occupying power may not enlist children "in formations or organizations subordinate to it" and that it may apply "no pressure or propaganda which aims at securing voluntary enlistment" of locals in occupied areas into its armed or auxiliary 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for President Putin, in part for the unlawful deportation of children. Putin and his government deny the its war on Ukraine, Russia is not only after territory. It is also trying to put its stamp on the people who live there, no matter how young they are.
