Russians hold journalist Iryna Levchenko in Melitopol, husband's fate still unknown
The Russians are holding journalist Iryna Levchenko, whom they kidnapped in May 2023, in the temporarily occupied Melitopol (Zaporizhia oblast). The fate of her husband Oleksandr is unknown, reports the journalist's sister Olena Rudenko to the Radio Liberty project "Pryazovya News".
"We were told that she is holding on, alive, in Melitopol, they did not take her away. They say that they feed her twice a day, take her out for a walk and to the toilet twice a day, give her dry rations, and they have something akin to a bed for women. This is what the conditions are like. Learning anything else is impossible, there is no one to ask. They say that Iryna is alive, but we do not know anything about Sashko, whether he is alive or not. Because he has been sick lately," says Olena Rudenko.
The journalist's sister added that Russia does not confirm that the Levchenko couple is detained, so they are listed as missing.
Iryna Levchenko with her husband Oleksandr. Photo by the Investigative Journalism Center
"We don't know anything. We will probably learn something when they are released, or when Ukraine wins, or something else. I don't want to assume anything bad, because they are not on the POW's lists. Coming to that territory is absolutely impossible now. Only two out of every hundred people can come there. You can immediately be thrown into prison as well. No one will look into the details there," she noted.
The abduction of Iryna Levchenko and her husband
Local journalist Iryna Levchenko and her husband Oleksandr were kidnapped in temporarily occupied Melitopol (Zaporizhia oblast) in May 2023. This information was confirmed by IMI's own sources in the city. Iryna and her husband have been retired for several years. The occupiers detained the couple on the street, first keeping them together and then separating them.
Iryna Levchenko has been a journalist since 1981. She worked for large-circulation newspapers, for the Melitopol district newspaper "Novy Den", was a correspondent for regional and national printed media.
Oleksandr Levchenko worked at the Melitopol tractor hydraulic units factory and an engine factory.
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