Azov fighter Serhii Mykhailenko freed from Russian captivity

During a prisoner exchange on 5 February, Mariupol defender Serhii Mykhailenko was freed from Russian captivity after an illegal trial and detention in a penal colony in Siberia.

Source: Serhii's wife Tamara Koriahina in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda.Zhyttia (Life)

Details: The 27-year-old defender is now preparing for surgery.

Serhii joined the Azov Brigade in 2019. He defended his native city of Mariupol after the start of the full-scale invasion. While Tamara was trying to survive in the besieged city, Serhii sustained shrapnel wounds to his legs from an aerial bomb.

His phone was destroyed at that time and he lost contact with his wife. Despite treatment in hospital, fragments remained in the fighter's body.

On 16 May 2022, using a friend's phone, Serhii wrote to his beloved telling her not to worry and said he had received an order to go into captivity.The serviceman survived the terrorist attack in Olenivka and was later unlawfully held in the Donetsk pre-trial detention centre.

For a long time, Tamara knew nothing about her husband's condition and whereabouts until she saw him in a video in Russian media. In the video, he confessed under duress to crimes he had not committed.

Quote from Tamara: "When I watched the video, I could not believe it was my Serhii. He was simply unrecognisable. I heard that he stutters. I suspect this is the result of torture. I cried all day: it felt as though a part of my soul had died inside me."

Details: In January 2024, Serhii received a sentence of life imprisonment in a maximum-security colony on fabricated charges. He was subsequently held in torture facilities in Siberia.

During this time, his wife sought to bring her beloved home. In particular, she visited Pope Francis in the Vatican together with relatives of other prisoners.

Quote from lawyer Olena Pribitkova: "She fought for his return like a lioness – tirelessly, bravely and selflessly. She lived only with the hope of their reunion on their native Ukrainian soil. And she succeeded! This is a true story of great love that overcomes all obstacles!"

Background:

• On 5 February, the first prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine in the past five months took place. As a result, 157 civilians and service members were returned from Russian captivity, including marine Ruslan Kurtmallaiev.
• Serhii is one of 15 defenders sentenced to life imprisonment who were freed from Russian captivity during this exchange.

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