Story 23: Andrii

Andrii, a 17-year-old teenager from Mykolaiv, was kidnapped in August 2022 by Russian troops. Both he and his brother were taken early in the morning, just from his home. The Russian soldiers broke into the house and grabbed the boys without saying anything.

Andrii and his brother were taken to a facility in occupied Kherson. They were handcuffed and blindfolded. The boys were taken as hostages. They were constantly interrogated and asked about the Ukrainian army. The Russians thought Andrii was helping Ukrainian soldiers. They could have used physical force during the interrogations, but Andrii is silent about the details.

A month later, the teen and his brother were released. Andrii, 17, went through torture and doesn’t want to tell anyone about the month he spent in Russian captivity.