Ex-mayor of Kherson Mykolaienko is still in Russian captivity, he refused to be exchanged in favour of a seriously ill prisoner

Former mayor Volodymyr Mykolaienko has been held in Russian captivity since April 2022

Former Kherson Mayor Volodymyr Mykolaienko, who has been held by Russians since 2022, has refused to be exchanged for another seriously ill prisoner.

This became known during a special event at the OSCE, organised by the Media Initiative for Human Rights in cooperation with the Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group (ULAG), the ZMINA Human Rights Centre and the Crimean Human Rights Group.

The prisoner's niece, Hanna Korshun-Samchuk, said that after being held in occupied Crimea, Volodymyr Mykolaienko was transferred to the penal colony No. 7 in Pakino, Vladimir region. The mayor was supposed to be exchanged, but he gave way to a seriously ill prisoner.

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The exchange was supposed to take place in 2022, but the prisoner asked for the release of his cellmate, who had gangrene on his leg, instead. Mykolaienko was afraid that the man would not survive in Russian captivity due to his serious health condition. Since then, the Russian side has not included him in the exchange lists.

Volodymyr Mykolaienko is being held in inhumane conditions and without medical care. There is also no information on the status of Volodymyr Mykolaienko, as the Russians have not brought any charges or punishment against him.

«On behalf of the families of civilian detainees, I ask you to facilitate their release. Their detention violates all norms and laws. I live in Kherson, where Russians are shelling civilians every day. We want to understand whether we will be able to live to see our relatives released from detention,» said Anna.

Abduction of former mayor Volodymyr Mykolaienko

Volodymyr Mykolaienko was abducted on 18 April 2022. In July, it became known that he had refused to cooperate with collaborator Kirill Stremousov.

It should be noted that Volodymyr Mykolaienko was the mayor of Kherson from 2014 to 2020. At that time, he opposed the forces that have «pro-Russian roots». And his assistant in this was a well-known Kherson activist Kateryna Handziuk, who worked as an advisor to the mayor.

On 3 May, he was featured in a propaganda story on a Russian TV channel. The Russian journalist tried to force Mykolaienko to recognise UPA Commander-in-Chief Roman Shukhevych as a Nazi.

In the story, the Russians tried to force Mykolaienko to call Shukhevych a Nazi. Screenshot from the Izvestia TV report

«Is Shukhevych really a hero for you?» the Russian journalist asked.
«If the country gave him this title, then he is a hero for that country,» Mykolaienko replied. «He did not fight on the side of Nazi Germany. He fought for Ukraine,» he said.

In addition to Mykolaienko, the Russians also kidnapped the current mayor of Kherson, Ihor Kolykhaiev. He was also kidnapped by Russians in 2022 and is allegedly being held in a secret prison in the FSS building in Simferopol in occupied Crimea.