Testimony. The war in Ukraine: “My hands were permanently tied behind my back”, says one Ukrainian deported to Russia.

Volodymyr describes a whole journey, the whole system of exile. After being captured near Kosarovich, north of Q, the citizen, who works in the humanitarian field, was forcibly boarded a bus. His hands were tied behind his back, his mouth closed, and he was blindfolded: then he could see the names of the cities: Ivankiv, Chernobyl … He understands that he is heading north.

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Finally, he identifies the Belarusian border he is crossing before being held in solitary confinement. “My hands were permanently tied behind my back. It is forbidden to look the soldiers in the eye, and the head should always be on the ground as far as possible. We had no information and could not guess where we were. They treated us like inferior human beings, imagining themselves as gods. “

He was later airlifted to Russia and transferred to the Rostov-on-Don prison. There, the malpractice continues for two weeks. “They grabbed our hands and we were naked. Then it hit … If we move too slowly, we get hit. If we return, it still hits. They attacked blindly to humiliate us whether we were young or old, sick or healthy. They make no difference ”

His journey did not stop there: the Russians took him to the Crimea. Another flight to Sevastopol, then a bus takes him north to the front line. Near Zaporizhia.. There, he describes a scene worthy of World War II: “Our bus stopped at the river bank. On the other side was another bus. The players checked the list. It is the exchange of prisoners. In a few minutes everything happened so fast. I only saw faces “. “‘S facesRussian soldiers“, He says.

Subject to the transfer of prisoners, Volodymyr is free. He was able to return to his home area. But it seems that some Ukrainians are less fortunate than him. The Ukrainian civilians, who were staying in Rostov-on-the-Don, boarded the train to an unknown location.

Oleksandra, a lawyer who specializes in human rights, follows a path that goes deep into Russia. He says these people were taken to the far corners of the Russian Far East. “At least 300 people were taken to Vladivostok. But not in the city, but in the surrounding small villages. They then show these people on Russian television and in campaign videos. They do this to show how the Russians saved these people from a hell like Mariupol. Not to mention that they bombed their homes. “. Not to mention that there is no other way for these people to survive: “They were told: Either you stay in a basement like Mariupol without water, without electricity, without food, without care, you will die … or you will go to Russia.”Says Olexandra.

The treatment of these deportees varies from region to region. Some are mistreated, while others are parked in schools or gyms without the right to go out. These exiles are then used for the Kremlin’s campaign. In the reports, comments say that if they can get Mariupol out of hell, it will be thanks to Russia. The Kremlin thinks they are not. “Deported“As the Ukrainians say, they want to talk about evictions.