Former mayor of Kherson did not agree to treason

The former mayor of Kherson spoke about more than three years in Russian captivity, where he was tortured, beaten, and forced to cooperate. Despite brutal torture and temptations with positions, he refused to recognize the occupation authorities.

This was reported by Volodymyr Mykolayenko in an interview with the Most resource.

Mykolayenko, the former mayor of Kherson , spoke about his experiences in Russian captivity, where he spent almost three and a half years. During this time, he was repeatedly tortured, forced to cooperate, and even in Russia was forced to pull his T-shirt over his eyes while walking so that he could not see the faces of the convoys.

The politician recalled that he was kidnapped on February 25, 2022, right on the street when he was going to a meeting with a representative of the terrorist defense. He was twisted, thrown into a trunk, and taken to the regional police building on Lutheranska Street, which the occupiers turned into a torture chamber.

Interrogations and beatings took place there every day."They said they couldn't hit me in the face because I was a politician, but they could hit me on the body as much as they wanted," Mykolayenko recalled. Later, he was transferred through Sevastopol and Voronezh region, where he was held in colonies and pre-trial detention centers.

The conditions were harsh: constant beatings, bullying and information isolation. Any "conversations" were accompanied by truncheons and tasers. The aggressors repeatedly tried to persuade him to cooperate, offering him a position in the occupation administration, but Mykolayenko refused.

They said: if you change your mind, you will recognize the new government. But I did not agree," Mykolayenko said.

"Even during the exchanges, he asked not to be exchanged for the Russian military, believing that others had a better chance of returning home. Now the former mayor is undergoing treatment after his captivity, but, according to him, he still feels guilty that someone is still waiting for his release.

Volodymyr Mykolayenko was released as part of a 146-for-146 prisoner exchange. He was the mayor of Kherson in 2014-2020, took an active part in the local Euromaidan and consistently opposed attempts by terrorist groups to seize the city.

Анна Бальчінос