Maksym Butkevych has returned from Russian captivity

On October 18, Maksym Butkevych, a Ukrainian human rights advocate, co-founder of Hromadske Radio and ZMINA Human Rights Center, returned to Ukraine as part of a prisoner exchange with Russia. This information was confirmed to the Institute of Mass Information (IMI) by his father, who stated that Butkevych is now on the Ukrainian territory.

Butkevych is the second Ukrainian journalist released from Russian captivity in 2024.

On October 10, 2024, IMI reported that journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who had been in Russian detention since August 2023, died in captivity. According to a letter from Russia's Ministry of Defense, received by her family on October 10, she passed away on September 19.

Previously, IMI published a list of imprisoned Ukrainian journalists. As of October 18, 2024, at least 29 civilian Ukrainian media workers and two combatant journalists remain in Russian captivity.

Background
In June 2022, Butkevych was captured by Russian forces near the occupied towns of Zolote and Hirske in the Luhansk region. Russian propaganda reported his capture on June 24, releasing an interrogation video. In September 2022, the Russian Ministry of Defense officially acknowledged his detention.

In March 2023, Russian authorities publicized sentences imposed by pseudo-courts in the occupied territories of Luhansk and Donetsk. Butkevych was sentenced to 13 years in a strict-regime colony, along with two other Ukrainian prisoners of war, Viktor Pokhozey (8.5 years) and Vladyslav Shel (18.5 years), under false accusations of war crimes and the use of prohibited methods in armed conflict.

On March 13, 2023, Ukrainian human rights advocates, journalists, and activists demanded the release of Butkevych, who had been unlawfully sentenced. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine also urged the international community to condemn his sentence.

Despite an appeal, the First Appellate Court in Moscow upheld his sentence on August 22, 2023. In February 2024, the "Memorial. Support for Political Prisoners" project recognized Butkevych as a political prisoner.

Finally, the Supreme Court of Russia reviewed Butkevych’s cassation appeal but left the original sentence unchanged.

As of October 18, 2024, at least 29 civilian Ukrainian journalists and two combatant journalists remain in Russian captivity, according to IMI.