Russians torture all Ukrainians, elderly and vulnerable people not exception

Torture of a paralyzed Ukrainian in Donetsk Oblast

Paralyzed 65-year-old Oleg Andreev was taken away by Russian forces that occupied his village in eastern Ukraine.

After a severe Russian shelling, he was found in a burned-down house lying next to his mother, who died during the bombing. Andreev said that a Russian soldier stole his wheelchair and used it for a wounded comrade. They took him to an institution in Makiivka (Donetsk Oblast), where the staff treated him with contempt.

Andreev received virtually no medical treatment.

All his important documents, including his passport, were also in his wheelchair's pocket. He said that the Russians took him away without giving him a chance to inform his daughter that he was still alive.

"They just left a paralysed with no identification, none whatsoever," his daughter said.

Andreev's toes were severely frostbitten after lying on a staircase during the shelling in -10°C temperatures, and they were left untreated. Only when the pain became unbearable, the doctor agreed to remove them.

The only treatment he received was with iodine. There were no painkillers. Andreev also said that he experienced verbal abuse from the staff and humiliation from a nurse who mocked him when he needed help to wash. According to him, they shaved his head and face without his permission, and the staff also took 70% of his pension.

Oleg Andreev's friend also suffered from Russian medical personnel.

Andreev said that he met his friend, 61-year-old Igor, in a facility. Igor had lost the ability to use his legs during his stay in Russia because he was not treated for radiculitis.

Sometimes, Andreev would give whatever small amount of money he had to a healthy patient who could find food for both of them.

“A couple of times he bought me strawberries and raspberries, can you imagine? I was so happy at that moment," he said.

After several months of unsuccessful attempts to free his father, Andreeva managed to contact a charity organization that helped him escape and reunite with his father. However, only two weeks after his release, Igor passed away due to diseases related to the lack of proper treatment in the occupied territory.

A woman was forced to donate blood for the Russian army

Elly Isaeva, who works for a charity organization, told journalists that she assists families whose relatives are trapped without money or proper care in the territories occupied by Russia in Ukraine.

She said that recently, she was working on rescuing a woman who was forced to donate blood for injured Russian soldiers.

Russia prevented Ukrainians from seeking medical treatment elsewhere

Last summer, the organization "Helping to Leave" learned that an elderly woman in the then-occupied Hrakove (Kharkiv Oblast) suffered from a severe form of gangrene and did not receive proper medical care.

By the time help arrived, she was already experiencing hallucinations. She died after Russian soldiers refused to allow the driver of the charity organization to take her to the hospital.

Russia confiscated Ukrainian passports from deportees

Isaeva said that many disabled patients she worked with had their passports confiscated and were imposed Russian citizenship.

It took weeks to free a group of five disabled men aged 20 to 35 and transport them back to Ukraine since their passports were taken when they were sent to Voronezh from Kherson Oblast.

Two men, Olexander and Bogdan, claimed that the staff at the institution they were in planned to declare them mentally unfit. Bogdan walks with crutches and suffers from cerebral palsy, while Olexander is in a wheelchair with an unidentified illness.

A pensioner was forced to accept Russian citizenship

A 75-year-old elderly woman, who fled back to Ukraine, said that she was evicted from her home during the Russian invasion. The woman said that five armed Russians with armbands broke into her house and ordered her to leave.

"Everything I had - my phone, money, clothes - was all left in the house," she said.

According to her, they loaded her into a car without explaining where they were taking her. Russian officials told her that she had two options: accept Russian citizenship and go to an institution or stay at the nearest railway station.

When she resisted, they threatened to send her to a psychiatric hospital.

Deportation of Ukrainian children

As noted by the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, according to data from social services, the Russian Federation illegally deported 19,500 children from Ukraine. The occupying country claims even higher figures.

Precisely due to the case of child deportations the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and ombudswoman Maria Lvova-Belova.

Recently, Ukraine filed the first accusations of deporting orphaned children against a Russian politician and two suspected Ukrainian collaborators.