Woman, 68, imprisoned by Russia for donation to Ukrainian military is rapidly losing weight as health worsens

Halyna Bekhter, a 68-year-old Ukrainian woman "convicted" by Russian occupation authorities for allegedly donating to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has suffered a significant deterioration in her health since being imprisoned in a Russian pre-trial detention centre in the temporarily occupied city of Simferopol.

Source: Darya Kostromina from the Russian human rights centre Memorial on Facebook

Details: Kostromina, who has been corresponding with Halyna's cellmate, says she has lost a dangerous amount of weight and is likely to be suffering from dementia.

Halyna is currently being held in a pre-trial detention centre in Simferopol. Kostromina sent a letter to the Ukrainian pensioner but received a reply from another woman, a cellmate of Halyna's. She said Halyna's glasses had broken and she could not write, so she dictated the letter to her cellmate.

Quote from Kostromina: "After a while, I began hearing rumours that Halyna Hryhorivna not only has problems with her eyesight, but that her dementia is also progressing.

I very cautiously asked the woman who was acting as her secretary, so to speak, about neurological problems. She also replied cautiously: 'Stress affects every person differently. Yes, she has shut down emotionally, hasn't been eating well and hasn't been speaking to anyone.'"

More details: Kostromina added that Halyna's condition later improved.

Halyna was later transferred to another cell, but Kostromina continued to communicate with her. However, from then on, another cellmate replied on behalf of the Ukrainian pensioner.

She said Halyna was refusing to eat and had to be force-fed: "Two of us hold her at the table so that she doesn't run away. Sometimes we eat the first spoonful ourselves so that she at least tries it and eats at least half."

In addition, the cellmate suspects that Halyna is developing Alzheimer's disease and that her weight has become dangerously low.

Quote from Halyna's cellmate, cited by Kostromina: "I've known her since June 2025. She used to be a normal, rational person. But two months later, during the transfer, I didn't recognise her at all […] She doesn't wash – she went into the shower in her clothes and was still dressed when she came out."

More details: Kostromina said that Halyna's cellmates have been trying to arrange a medical appointment for her. A doctor is believed to have examined her twice, but Halyna could not clearly explain to her cellmates what conclusion the medic had reached about her condition.

Kostromina added that the prosecutor's office is trying to appeal against Halyna's "excessively lenient" sentence and have it increased to 16 years in prison.

The 68-year-old pensioner was sentenced in the temporarily Russian-occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia Oblast for allegedly donating money to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the Russian "investigation", in July 2023, Halyna allegedly used the mobile app of a Ukrainian bank on her phone to transfer money in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Halyna was charged with treason under Article 275 of Russia's Criminal Code, specifically with "providing financial assistance to a foreign country and engaging in activities directed against the security of the Russian Federation".

She was sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment. Following this "sentence", Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's human rights commissioner, sent letters to Russia and to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"When an elderly woman is made a target of the repressive machine, it is obvious that this is not about 'justice', but terror against the civilian population," the Human Rights Commissioner's Office noted.

"The so-called 'courts' created by Russian occupation authorities have no legitimacy whatsoever and cannot pass lawful sentences on citizens of Ukraine."

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