Russians hold three school bus drivers from the Mykolaiv region in Mordovia, Russia

Russians are holding three drivers from the Mykolaiv region in the Republic of Mordovia, Russia. Previously, Volodymyr Androsovych, Vitalii Profatylov, and Vitalii Kuznietsov were held in the Ryazan region.

Volodymyr Androsovych's son Yevhen told the ZMINA Human Rights Centre about this.

On April 12, 2022, the Russian military detained the men in temporarily occupied Mariupol. They worked as drivers in rural schools in the Mykolaiv region, and after the start of the full-scale invasion, they drove marines from the 36th Brigade to Mariupol.

They left Novyi Buh on four buses. On their way back from Mariupol, they wanted to evacuate the local population using the same buses but were unable to leave the city.

Together with the soldiers, the drivers stayed at the Illich Steel and Iron Works of Mariupol, where they spent a month and a half. On April 12, 2022, they were detained together with the soldiers of the 36th Brigade and taken to a penal colony in Olenivka.

The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed to Yevhen Androsovych that his father was in a Russian prison. In Russia, all three drivers are considered prisoners of war because they helped the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In Ukraine, they are classified as civilians.

Yevhen's father and other civilians are not interrogated and "not beaten for no reason." Yevhen found a photo of Volodymyr on Russian social media and barely recognised him because of his significant weight loss.

According to Yevhen, Vitalii Profatylov's family was told that he had serious heart problems, and the guards were forbidden to touch him because he was in very poor health.