UNIAN journalist held captive in Russia for about a year

Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Hyluk has been held captive by the Russian military for more than a year. He fell into the hands of the occupants back at the beginning of March last year.

At the time of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Dmytro was with his parents in the village of Kozirovychi in Kyiv Region. During the bombing, one of the shells hit the family home and Dmytro and his father came out of hiding and went to the house to see what condition it was in. At this point the Russians surrounded them and took them prisoner.

According to UNIAN's editor-in-chief Mikhail Gannitsky, the Russians forced Dmytro to dig trenches and trenches. Hilyuk was already texting him from the occupation about the broken house and empty shops in the village. Dmitriy did not pass on any information about the Russian troops.

Later, Dmytro's father was released and he was taken to the Russian Federation.

They tried to exchange him more than once. However, even if he appeared on the list, he was not released at the last moment.

Not once has the Russian Federation fulfilled its promise regarding Dmitriy and several other people. They were agreed to be on the list. They were agreed for the evening, they are not brought to the exchange in the morning," Mikhail Gannitsky said.

Dmytro is in the status of a civilian prisoner of war. According to international law, he cannot be exchanged for the military, but the enemy does not want to release civilians.

With civilians it is much more difficult, this level of difficulty rises, because, you understand, as a democratic country, we cannot catch Russian civilians and impose certain conditions, so there is a really difficult situation," explained Pyotr Yatsenko, representative of the coordinating headquarters for the prisoners.

The head of Kozirovichi, Volodymyr Podkurgannyy, points out that Dzmitry is not the only local resident who has been taken prisoner by the Russians. In total, according to Podkurgannyy, 42 residents of the community are being held captive by the Russians.

For the entire time Dmitry was in captivity, he managed to send only one letter home, where he wrote that he was supposedly "doing well".

Dmitri's house has already been rebuilt, and his parents are being helped by the journalist's colleagues. They are waiting together for Dmitri to be able to return home.