Olenivka Massacre: Family of Captive Soldier Martin Grechanyi Fights for Answers

On July 29, 2022, a massacre of Ukrainian war prisoners took place in Olenivka. It is now known that at least 53 people were killed in the barracks, and more than 130 were wounded. However, it is impossible to conduct an investigation because the Russians do not allow access to the territory. Martin Grechanyi, call sign Stifler, was in the barracks, which was hit, probably by grenades. He is currently in captivity. His sister Vasilisa Dobrova, a photographer, public figure and volunteer with the Ukrainian Red Cross, told us about his story, access to information and life in the struggle. Watch the full exclusive interview and read the shortened version about his lust for life, support for others, actions to support prisoners, and questions that need answers.

Can you tell us about your family before the full-scale invasion and Martin's enlistment?

We are a big family, I am the eldest in the family and there are two brothers: Benjamin and Martin, who will turn 24 this year. We haven't seen each other since his twentieth birthday. Venia is also a soldier, he has been serving for 7 years in a unit in Odesa and does a lot of work.

Martin. Photo provided by the interviewee

Martin was involved in youth activities: The National Corps, the national idea, near-football - all these wonderful people. He really wanted to get to Azov, he liked it and it was a pretty high level. We, as a family, of course, supported him. We all understood this responsibility, I always said that whatever he chose, I would be on his side.

He went to Azov, completed his training there, signed a contract, and was supposed to come on vacation in January (2022 - ed.). Something dragged on, then it started, and he never returned from Mariupol. They were defending Azovstal, and he was extradited along with everyone else. We understood that this was the only solution, we collected these signatures, consciously went for it and fought, because we realized that this was almost the only time we could see him alive. In general, everyone who was there at the time of the invasion.

Did you have any information after you left Azovstal?

We didn't know. When they were taken out of Azovstal, we understood that he was somewhere with the guys. But we could not know where exactly. And we found out that he was in Olenivka, in a barracks, and even survived some months after the lists appeared. They were not believable enough. There was so much confusion that it took a long time to figure out who was where. And no one gives any information. Azov knows nothing. We lost the guy in the abyss. And from that moment on, the whole family's life began to fall apart.

The news reported that there had been a terrorist attack in one of the barracks where Azov soldiers were stationed. We realized that wherever there was information about the Azovs, there could be disinformation. Then the lists started to appear. My brother and I did not believe until the end, because there was no evidence. But of course, it destroyed us from the inside, because he might be there and he might not be alive at all. And then suddenly my mother came across an interview somewhere in the telegram channels, suddenly - we saw the kid rewound. He was giving an interview in some Donetsk hospital to a pro-Russian correspondent. We realized that he had been there, had been injured, but had survived.

Did the state authorities communicate with you about your capture?

No, I can honestly say now. For the entire time of the full-scale invasion and the time my brother has been in captivity, for everything he has gone through, all the information I know about him is not from the authorities. Neither the information bureau, nor the Coordination Headquarters, nor Azov itself, nor the SBU provided me with information. That is, no one had any information.

My brother and I were begging at the doorsteps of all possible organizations where I could get at least some information about what to do. After that, a very powerful organization was formed, the Olenivka Community, and not just one, there are also Angels of Azov, many of them. To be honest, I can't know everything and be everywhere either.

TheOlenivka Community was organized by the relatives of those guys who were injured or killed, unfortunately, in that barracks. It is these people who achieve something, stand outside the offices, demand some answers and actually get something. I believe that in this case, this is the strongest organization that really does something, will do something, and will have my personal support. I am very grateful to these women and men of the organization of like-minded people.

Do you have any information about Martin's condition now?

It's quite general, but chronologically I know that he was in a barracks, he was wounded there because he was in the depths, his back, head and legs were cut from behind and his jaw was still damaged. From this Donetsk hospital, where he was lying, a girl from Azov was exchanged later, and she brought his drawings, while they were in the hospital together. It was the first and only thing from him that reached us during that time. Little drawings on the back of some old magazines. It was powerful.

Did Russia provide any confirmation of his stay there?

I have no connections there. Initially, when the terrorist attack in Olenivka and the subsequent capture took place, it was very dangerous to look for anything about anyone. When we were looking for answers, we were told that it was better not to give out too much information because it could be harmful. And we realized that we needed to be a little quieter.

I came to the TCC to take a message to my family that my relative was in captivity, spent a lot of nerves there and got this little paper. That's all I received from the military unit, that is, from the TCC, from the authorities in general.

This is all the documentation I had about his capture and the state of his affairs. Then we were told that if you have someone in Russia, you can ask them, look for them. I haven't searched yet, because I simply don't have anyone there. I don't want to. I don't believe these people.

Tell us about your work now.

I used to volunteer before, I helped orphanages of several organizations. And I got to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society - Odesa regional organization - by accident - I was helping a friend with psychosocial support measures for children. Now I'm also working in this area of psychosocial support and rehabilitation, developing it and trying to help people who are going through a crisis. Now it is a lot of people.

Vasylisa. Photo provided by the interviewee

"I have also been a member of the rapid response team for two years now - it is a very powerful team that cooperates with the SES and is involved in responding to emergencies in the city and region. We work on arrivals, in the hard core, together with the SES and the police. There were quite difficult moments when, to be honest, it made no sense to wash the uniforms because they would not have time to dry.

Nowadays, there are no mentally healthy people. I have nervous disorders, everyone has them. Some people have more complicated ones, some people have slightly easier ones. Someone is just more stress-resistant, someone is not stress-resistant at all. I can see the consequences of the war in my mother, when she found out that Martin was captured and we had already learned that he was in a barracks, survived, but was walking around wounded somewhere - everything collapsed at once.

I saw how fast the summer went by after this news. She had very severe nervous breakdowns, her health was greatly affected, and in the summer of 2024 she had a massive stroke and is now a person with a disability. Treatment for the rest of her life.

Again, the documentation is so absurd. I can't get her a disability certificate because it's an extremely complicated procedure for an ordinary person. And now a person without a limb has to come back every month or six months to prove that it hasn't grown back. It is absurd.

By the way, we did not receive any help from the authorities, precisely because this is also an extremely complicated process. Many of my mother's documents have been neglected for 25 years, for example, something was lost somewhere, or 15 years ago they recorded it incorrectly. My brother and I spent two years pulling the family along as best we could, but I have three children. But somehow we were moving. That's when my mother had a stroke, and then my father died. He was very sick, Martin loved him very much, and he doesn't know any of this yet. Then I realized that I couldn't take it anymore, I couldn't take it anymore on my own.

I decided that we needed to apply for help, because I couldn't do it anymore. And I was faced with all the documents that my mother had accumulated over 30 years. It got to the point where I had to prove to people that Martin was her son. They have a mismatch in the surnames because she changed them. We hired a lawyer, we will fight, put pressure, look for these papers. In short, it is very difficult morally. This is the situation we are in now.

Марія Литянська