Oleksandr
Yahodynskyi

On March 26, 2022, Oleksandr Yahodynskyi, aged 30, and his younger brother Vladyslav were apprehended by Russian military personnel at a checkpoint in Khocheva, located in the Kyiv region. Using weapons to intimidate them, the soldiers forced the brothers into an armored personnel carrier destined for Chernobyl. Once inside, the Russian military covered their heads with black garbage bags, bound their hands behind their backs, and subjected them to physical assault. Subsequently, the brothers were transported to the outpost of the Border Guard Service of the Republic of Belarus in Narovlya, where they were handed over to unidentified individuals. Vladyslav was later placed in an orphanage.

After a month of navigating through Belarus, with assistance from representatives of the Red Cross and volunteers, Vladyslav managed to return home. Oleksandr’s precise location remains unknown, but it is speculated that he may be in Russia, possibly confined within one of the correctional institutions in the Bryansk region.