Journalist Dmytro Khliuk spoke about his time in Russian prison at the European Parliament, Suspilne reports.
“As for my time in captivity, I have already spoken many times about the horrors that are happening there. If we were to categorise them, we could say that they are starvation, cold, and the absence of any information or communication with the outside world, literally the world outside,” Khyliuk said.
The journalist also shared his opinion regarding the reasons for Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“As for the reason behind this war. I know that there is an opinion in Europe that it is perhaps a territory matter, that Putin wants territory, that Putin wants the Russian language in Ukraine, there are also theories that Putin does not want the European integration of Ukraine. But I am convinced that this is all untrue. That is, their goal is to erase the identity of Ukrainians,” he said.
UNIAN journalist Dmytro Khyliuk, who had been kidnapped by Russian forces in Kyiv oblast in March 2022, was released on August 24, 2025. He said in a comment to reporters that Russia’s prisoners live in a total information vacuum.
In an interview with IMI, Dmytro Khyliuk spoke about the torture and starvation he had survived in Russian prison.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution calling for increased political, economic, and diplomatic pressure on Russia to ensure the release of illegally detained Ukrainian journalists on 1 October 2025.
The resolution draws on the Institute of Mass Information’s list of 26 journalists detained by Russia; IMI was also involved in drafting the resolution. The document cites the release of the Ukrainian journalists Vladyslav Yesypenko, Dmytro Khyliuk, and Mark Kaliush as evidence of international pressure being effective. The PACE hosted an exhibition about Ukrainian journalists imprisoned by Russia titled Press In Detention. It complemented the final adoption of the resolution on Ukrainian journalists unlawfully detained by Russia. Vladyslav Yesypenko and Dmytro Khyliuk attended the exhibition opening in person.