Ukrainian convicts forcibly taken to Russia, detained immediately after release – NYT

The New York Times journalists talked to Ukrainian prisoners who managed to get out of Russian prisons with the help of a volunteer organization. Earlier, convicts from Kherson and the region, when the territories were under the control of Russian troops, were taken to Russia and the temporarily occupied Crimea to serve the rest of their sentences.

It is noted that many of them were immediately imprisoned after their release for violating migration laws: they were fined and later sent to deportation centers.

"We were met with shouting, beating, humiliation," said 47-year-old Oleksandr Fedorenko, who was serving a sentence in Kherson for theft, describing his arrival at the Russian-controlled prison. "Face to the ground, don't look, don't talk, and blows, blows, blows."

Former prisoners claimed that they were beaten in Russian and Crimean prisons, and were offered Russian citizenship, but most refused. Also, according to their testimony, there were recruiters from the Wagner PMC in the prisons, but they did not show interest in Ukrainian citizens. Later, the prisoners were taken further and further to prisons deeper into the Russian Federation.

The journalists noted that no Russian official has publicly recognized the transfer of Kherson prisoners to Russia, as this is a possible violation of international law, which prohibits the forced transfer of people from the occupied zone. Officials from the Russian penitentiary system and the national police did not respond to requests for comment.

In total, it is estimated that Russian forces forcibly removed about 3,500 imprisoned Ukrainian citizens, including 2,500 from Kherson, when Russia retreated from the occupied territories last year.

• Earlier, the head of the Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, said that about 40% of those held hostage by Russia are civilians, including children.