OSCE employee isolated by Russia, faces planned transfer to Siberia - Ukraine's MFA
Photo: Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha (facebook.com/zelenskyy.official)
Ukraine is deeply concerned about Russia's plans to transfer OSCE employee Vadim Golda to Siberia, where he has been illegally held in isolation since October 15, states Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the official’s social media channels.
According to the minister, this constitutes another flagrant disregard by the Russian Federation of its obligations under the Geneva Conventions.
Ukrainians in temporarily occupied territories are deprived of basic rights and remain entirely at the mercy of Russians.
The head of the MFA emphasized that Kyiv demands Moscow provide reliable and verified information regarding the location and conditions of detention for all three illegally detained OSCE employees.
Ukraine also demands immediate and unhindered access to them.
"We call on the OSCE community to intensify pressure on Russia to secure the immediate release of Dmytro Shabanov, Maksym Petrov and Vadym Golda," stressed Andrii Sybiha.
Russians illegally detained three employees of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine: Dmytro Shabanov, Maksym Petrov, and Vadym Golda.
In September 2022, a so-called Luhansk People's Republic sentenced Dmytro Shabanov and Maksym Petrov to 13 years in prison for alleged treason.
Later, in August 2024, a Russian "court" in Donetsk sentenced Vadym Golda to 14 years in prison, accusing him of espionage.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the international community have repeatedly condemned these sham trials and demanded the immediate release of all detained OSCE representatives.
Earlier, Russian citizen Darya Boyarska, a former interpreter for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who is under sanctions and linked to the Kremlin, joined the OSCE election observation mission in Hungary.
As a result, Hungarian human rights activists called on the organization to immediately change the composition of the delegation. However, the OSCE itself stated that such concerns were "unfounded."
Meanwhile, in December 2025, Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen stated that the possibility of deploying an OSCE ceasefire monitoring mission in Ukraine directly depends on the security situation.
According to her, the presence of observers will only become feasible when adequate security conditions for personnel are fully ensured.
