Captive Ukrainians address Russian court in emotional statements

Four Ukrainian men taken captive by Russia at the start of its invasion gave emotional statements in court this week as they faced massive sentences for "seizure of power" and terrorism, Russian media reported Thursday. (AFP/File)

• Moscow has also taken an unknown number of civilians into Russia from occupied Ukrainian territory
• “I have never served in the Ukrainian army, I served in the Soviet army, more than 30 years ago,” Oleg Zharkov, whom prosecutors want to jail for 19.5 years, told the court

WARSAW: Four Ukrainian men taken captive by Russia at the start of its invasion gave emotional statements in court this week as they faced massive sentences for “seizure of power” and terrorism, Russian media reported Thursday.

Two of the four left the Ukrainian army years before Moscow launched its full-scale attack in 2022, while another had never taken up arms, according to the Mediazona news outlet.

On top of taking thousands of Ukrainian troops captive since launching its 2022 attack, Moscow has also taken an unknown number of civilians into Russia from occupied Ukrainian territory.

“I have never served in the Ukrainian army, I served in the Soviet army, more than 30 years ago,” Oleg Zharkov, whom prosecutors want to jail for 19.5 years, told the court, according to a transcript published by the Mediazona website Thursday.

“It’s no secret that in any military unit not only soldiers work but electricians, plumbers, handymen... People like me.”

The four spoke at a military court in Russia’s Rostov-on-Don late Wednesday, most of whom were captured during the 2022 siege of Mariupol.

All of them served in Ukraine’s Azov battalion — banned in Russia — at various points in time, some of whom worked in civilian roles supporting the army such as cooks or plumbers.

They are among 24 accused of taking part in a terrorist organization and trying to overthrow Russian authorities — despite not living in Russian territory before their arrest. Two of the other 20 were exchanged in prisoner swaps, while one died in custody last year.

Oleksandr Mukhin, facing 22 years, served in the Azov battalion for a year between 2017 and 2018.

“I’m a former serviceman, let’s start from that,” he said. He was working as a security guard when Moscow attacked.

He said he was taken from his home in Mariupol in March 2022 by “some people, beaten, put a sack on my head and taken away.”

“On Russophobia... How can I criticize someone for speaking Russian when I’m a Russian speaker?“

Soldier Mykyta Tymonin said he had seen torture in custody.

“Sitting in Rostov, you do not feel that there is a war between Russia and Ukraine, and in Ukraine people feel it: many people die, children. Many families are forced to go abroad,” he said.

Anatoliy Grytsyk said he had been a soldier his whole professional life and served in Bosnia, Kuwait and Kosovo.

He said his wife had been “shot in the street in front of him.”

“I cannot tell people what I feel, what I went through, what your country did to mine,” he said.

“God forbid you ever feel this.”