May 27, 2025, 9:45 p.m.
(Photo collage: Intent)
Oleksiy Barchuk, a 59-year-old resident of Kherson, who spent more than 13 months in illegal detention by the Russian occupiers, said that during his stay in prison on Chongar he saw the mayor of Kherson , Ihor Kolikhayev.
The former prisoner of the occupiers told this to the Center for Investigative Journalism.
"The doors of our cells were opposite. On the door of his cell was written "Ivan Ivanovich Ivanov", but there was no photo. We were told before that Kolikhayev was in the pre-trial detention center, and then I saw him," Barchuk recalled.
According to him, the mayor of Kherson was held in Chongar without torture, unlike other prisoners. On June 29, 2023, Kolikhayev was taken to an unknown destination.
Oleksiy Barchuk was captured by the Russians together with his brother Artem, his wife Lidiya Podozerska, his nephew Serhiy Barchuk, deputy head of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in Kherson region, and a family friend, Oleh Samotoi. The reason for the arrest was that Serhiy tried to save the Pension Fund's computers from the occupiers, and the Russians accused them of "stealing" the property.
All five were subjected to torture, beatings, and moral pressure. They were held in the torture chambers of Kherson, Oleshky, Kalanchak, and Chongar. Eventually, after a so-called "trial," the family and friend were forced to pay a ransom of $5,000 each to gain their freedom.
Barchuk recalls hours of searches, when they were forced to run out of their cells, stand in unbearable positions, and those who could not stand it were beaten.
"They kicked us out into the corridor, forced us to run out and run back in for a certain amount of time, to stand in very difficult positions - for those who are not trained, it is very difficult to hold on for more than five minutes. Some people could not stand it, fell to their knees. The guards beat them for this. They also threatened them: "If you don't get up, we'll beat you to death!" They beat everyone. There was no one who was not beaten for something. When we returned to the cell, everything was turned upside down, and we were given five minutes to clean it up. And then everything started all over again," said the Kherson resident.
After his release, Oleksiy Barchuk went to Tallinn, where he told his story to journalists.
Ihor Kolikhayev, the mayor of Kherson, was abducted by the Russian occupiers on June 28, 2022. He was detained after he arrived at the office of a utility company. At the time of his abduction, Kherson was under Russian occupation.
According to witnesses, Kolikhayev was detained after refusing to cooperate with the occupation administration. He was held in an unknown location without access to lawyers or communication with his family. Representatives of the Ukrainian authorities reported that the mayor of Kherson was taken into Russian captivity because of his pro-Ukrainian position.
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