~Russia illegally detains 25,000 Kremlin prisoners

According to the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, this is the number of civilians abducted by the Russian Federation.

The ZMINA Human Rights Centre has found that at least 67 prisoners require urgent medical care and may die unless they receive it.

During the full-scale invasion, the National Police began investigating the enforced disappearance of 8,800 people. 

Russian Children's Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova claims Russia has illegally abducted over 700,000 children from Ukraine.

The Media Initiative for Human Rights has identified about one hundred places where abducted civilians are held.

The Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Qırım) confirms 218 illegally imprisoned Ukrainian citizens, 132 of whom are Qırımtatarlar.

During the full-scale war, 3,767 Ukrainian citizens, including 167 civilians, were returned to Ukraine.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has received 88 bodies of killed Ukrainian prisoners of war. Earlier, the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed to their relatives that they were in Russian captivity. This was reported by Zmina with reference to the secretary of the Coordination Centre, Dmytro Usov.

"If we believed that the Red Cross would protect the prisoners, that it would give some guarantees, then, unfortunately, this is not the case," says Dmytro Usov.

"In its 2023 report, the ICRC deliberately did not show how much it had done directly in Ukraine and Russia. Instead, they published a general report. Most of the figures they mention in the document are data collected in Ukraine. If you ask prisoners whether they saw the Red Cross in Russian prisons, whether they communicated with them, whether they passed on letters from them, 95% of those who return from captivity say they did not see ICRC representatives there," says the secretary of the coordination centre. 

The Russians are using more than ten types of torture against Ukrainian prisoners, which are listed in the Istanbul Protocol.

"The military is being used as a human shield. Our fighters who are captured are tortured, sexually assaulted or killed," the official said.

Crimean Tatar Teimur Abdullaiev, sentenced to 16.5 years in prison in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case, complained of pain and inflammation in his ears: the man is being held under strict conditions in the Salavata colony in Bashkortostan. This was reported by the prisoner's wife, Alyme Abdullaieva, in a comment to Crimean Solidarity.

Teimur Abdullaiev had ARVI twice during his imprisonment. This led to complications and pain in his ears. The political prisoner told his wife that he had lost his hearing for some time. A neighbour shared some medication with him, but the pain disappeared only for a while. The prisoner's wife is convinced that his health has been negatively affected by years of detention in a punishment cell and a cell with strict conditions. In addition, Abdullaiev regularly suffers from pain in his stomach, liver and teeth. 

"My youngest son has not spent a single day in the prison camp. He has been in the pits of punishment cells for almost 5 years — these are covered cold cells. He is on the verge of life and death," said Diliara Abdullaieva, Teimur's mother.

Asan Akhmetov, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for alleged "sabotage ordered by the Defense Intelligence Service of Ukraine" on a gas pipeline near the village of Perevalne near Simferopol (Aqmescit), has begun to lose his eyesight in Russian custody. This was reported by the Crimean Tatar Resource Center with reference to the prisoner's wife, Repika Akhtemova.  

On December 5, Asan Akhmetov spent his 35th birthday in Vladimir prison. The prisoner's health deteriorates with every day of detention due to malnutrition. Portions in prison are small, and he is rarely given chicken or fish. He refuses to eat pork because of his religious beliefs, so he eats less than other prisoners.

"His eyesight has deteriorated a lot, and he can't see well. Unfortunately, there were conditions where there was nothing to do but read books, and that's how he killed time. But the light in the cells is not suitable for reading. His eyes were constantly strained, and now it is showing. For the past year, his knees have been hurting; I think it's his joints. Unfortunately, he is not undergoing any treatment. And to seek medical help is a waste of his nerves. It is very difficult there. There are practically no healthy teeth left - all of them have crumbled or fallen out by themselves," the political prisoner's wife said.

The Akhtemovs have two children — 10-year-old son Refat and 6-year-old daughter Safika.

"For me, Asan has become a symbol of resistance. I am very proud of my husband. He is an example for those who are imprisoned and those who are free. Refat knows where his father is and realises that he has done nothing wrong. He waits for Asan to be exchanged. Meanwhile, we tell little Safika that her father is working. It is very difficult for children without parental care and love, and unfortunately, I notice it," says Repika Akhmetova.

Activist Vadym Siruk, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case, spoke about problems with his teeth and frequent illnesses due to the cold in correctional colony 2 in Salavat, Bashkortostan. This was reported by Crimean Solidarity with reference to his wife, Anna Bohacheva.

There are problems with food in the penal colony. The family tries to send him basic food on their own, but it can be done only once every three months.

"We sent Vadym medicine, vitamins and food for three months, including a lot of tail fat. Unfortunately, the food in the colony is bad. There are almost no fruits and vegetables in the local kiosk, so we have to buy vitamins separately," said Anna Bohacheva.

Despite the difficulties, Vadym is cheerful, according to his wife. He was especially happy to see his mother and children, who were able to come for an extended visit for only the second time in almost nine years of his imprisonment.

"He is surprised to see how much the children have grown. He remembers that our daughter Amira was two years old, and now she is a teenager with her own interests and hobbies. Hanifa's younger daughter didn't let her father leave during the three days of the visit," said the political prisoner's wife.

The cook Ernest Ibrahimov, sentenced to 13 years in the case of Hizb ut-Tahrir, was transferred to the penal colony No. 5 in Novotroitsk, Orenburg region. This was reported by Crimean Solidarity with reference to the political prisoner's wife, Venera Ibragimova.

Ibrahimov was released from prison in the Saratov region on November 8. On the 12th, his family received a letter from the transit point of the pre-trial detention center-1 in Saratov region. A month later, on December 6, the political prisoner called his family and informed them that he had been transferred to the colony. He had not heard from them for the previous month.

Now, the Crimean Tatar is being held in quarantine. Ibrahimov is not complaining about his health.

"He lost weight during the stage, but he did not say how much so as not to upset me," added Ernest Ibrahimov's wife.

Oleh Fedorov, an entrepreneur and public figure sentenced to 13 years in prison in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case, has been transferred to penal colony No. 5 in the Udmurt Republic. Previously, he was held in a prison in Yeltsy. This was reported by Crimean Solidarity with reference to the prisoner's wife, Iryna Fedorova.

Immediately after his arrival, the political prisoner was placed in a strict detention centre. According to relatives, Fedorov was escorted to the new colony with a document in his personal file. The document refers to the definition of a Muslim under strict detention conditions. 

"He was told that allegedly this resolution (in a copy of the document) has his signature, which he did not put, and he had never seen this resolution before," said Iryna Fedorova. 

The city of Sarapul is more than 2,500 kilometres from the house in Crimea (Qırım) where Oleh Fedorov lived before his arrest. 

"It is very far — more than two days of travel. It is very far and difficult for the family and his elderly mother. Both financially and physically, it is not easy to visit him," added the political prisoner's wife. 

Vladyslav Bilyi, a resident of Nova Kakhovka, who was previously abducted, was sentenced to 11 years in prison on charges of "espionage". This was reported by Zmina.

In March 2022, Bilyi was in Nova Kakhovka and allegedly collected information, which he then passed on through a messenger to a representative of the SSU. The occupation "court" sent the Ukrainians to a strict regime penal colony for 11 years.

Bilyi Vladyslav Viktorovych, born on March 21, 1987, was abducted by the Russian occupiers. His disappearance became known in the fall of 2023, and he has been reported missing since then.