Former prisoner from Kherson tells about 59 days of torture in occupiers' basements

The Kherson resident spent 59 days in basements during the occupation and was brutally tortured for his pro-Ukrainian position. After his release, he created the organization Graduates, which supports civilian men who have survived captivity and torture.

Oleksiy Sivak from Kherson told Ukrayinska Pravda about this.

"I was beaten by two Buryats 'for not knowing the Ukrainian language,'" says 40-year-old Oleksiy from Kherson. In February 2022, the occupation of the city interrupted his plans for another sea voyage, and he stayed home with his family. The hope for a quick de-occupation pushed him to activism: Oleksii attended pro-Ukrainian rallies, posted leaflets, and volunteered with his neighbor to deliver aid to the elderly.

On August 24, 2022, after hanging the Ukrainian flag, the occupiers grabbed him and his neighbor. Oleksii was beaten in front of his wife and held in the basement for 59 days. He describes the torture as a combination of physical and psychological torture, including electroshock, beatings, humiliation, and sexualized abuse. Prisoners were often forced to follow absurd commands or watch others being tortured.

After his release, Oleksiy and his cellmates created the NGO Alumni, a network of civilian men who survived captivity and torture. They organize peer-to-peer groups, provide legal and psychological support, help with applications to investigators, and cooperate with the prosecutor's office in recording war crimes. The organization's name came from irony: the wife of one of his cellmates joked about a "reunion."

Oleksiy emphasized the problems of systemic support for male survivors of captivity: many face victimization, refusals to establish the status of illegally detained, and delays in providing assistance. He explained that men need specific support, not just statistics or a focus on sexual violence.

The Graduates organization also joined the documentation of crimes committed by the Russian Federation and influenced the inclusion of the topic of sexual violence against civilians in the UN report. For Oleksiy, the main goal now is to speak up for those who are still in captivity and to ensure that the state and international bodies provide real help to the victims.

The former head of the Hola Prystan emergency department also survived captivity and torture by the Russian occupiers. In August 2022, Moshensky was detained for two weeks, during which he was beaten, electrocuted, and held in a fetal position in pits. They interrogated him and tried to force him to cooperate, but he survived and was released.

Анна Бальчінос