Russians call relatives of servicemen who left Azovstal, threatening rape and death
IRYNA BALACHUK — TUESDAY, 7 JUNE 2022, 15:20
Yuliia, the wife of Mariupol defender Arsenii Fedosiuk, said that relatives of servicemen who left Azovstal received calls from Russian numbers and were abused or threatened.
Source: Yuliia Fedosiuk in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda
Quote from Fedosiuk: "They call from Russian numbers, send messages on Telegram, WhatsApp, and other messengers, with abuse and threats. This has been going on for about a month. Since we met with the Pope [Pope Francis], we have been targeted. Then we started getting calls on Telegram and received a message that my husband is already dead, whether I want to see his photo or video. That’s it. I also got a call on WhatsApp. There were Russian numbers everywhere, so I think that they were Russians.
Also, I am constantly being threatened that allegedly ‘they have reached my husband and that they will get to me, their guys will be in Kyiv soon.’ They threaten with rape and death."
Details: According to Fedosiuk, other relatives of the defenders are receiving similar messages and threatening calls. In particular, Kateryna, the wife of the commander of the Azov Mariupol regiment, Denys Prokopenko.
The women haven’t gone to the police because they do not see the point of doing so.
Fedosiuk also said that on 5 June, her husband called his mother, Tetiana - he was given the opportunity to make one call. And after that conversation, representatives of the media which are under the control of DPR [self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic] fighters started to call Tetiana Fedosiuk; they spoke Ukrainian and tried to elicit comments.
According to the defender's wife, however, his mother is "a well-prepared woman", so she immediately ended the conversation. Fedosiuk noted that Tetiana’s [phone] number could not be found anywhere on the internet, so she assumes that it could have been passed on to the occupiers’ "media" by Russian security forces that are holding Ukrainian servicemen.
She also said that during the last week she received many calls from unknown numbers, asking her what she thought of the Ukrainian government, while her husband is being held on territory not controlled by Ukraine.
Quote from Fedosiuk: "Probably, they expected me to criticise the government. But I did not give any comments to them. I trust the Ukrainian authorities and hope that they will do everything possible to get our men released."
For more information, see:
The faces of Azovstal. Stories about the defenders of Mariupol
Background:
- Mariupol was blockaded by Russian troops from 1 March. Since the end of April, the defenders of Mariupol were holed up in the Azovstal plant, including representatives of the Azov Regiment (part of the National Guard), marines, border guards, and police. They asked the world to be rescued: the Marines asked for "extraction", and the Azov fighters asked that at least the wounded soldiers be evacuated.
- On 17 May, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the Mariupol garrison had completed its combat mission and that the commanders now had orders to save the lives of the personnel. On 16 May, the evacuation of severely wounded soldiers to the occupied territory began. Everyone else was planned to be taken out in several stages. Formally, they were taken prisoner. The Ukrainian authorities plan to exchange them.
- On 20 May, the Russian Defence Ministry announced that all Azovstal fighters had been withdrawn, and that 2,439 people, whom the Russians consider prisoners of war, had left the bunkers since 16 May.
- On 6 June, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that more than 2,500 Ukrainian Azovstal fighters were currently held by Russian occupiers. The Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence is engaged in their release.
