Three Ukrainian children were taken to Russia and are being tried for “Terrorism and Sabotage” after being abducted from occupied Melitopol, tortured, and forced to confess.
Three teenagers from Melitopol — Viktor Azarovskyy, Oleh Shokol, and Denys Vasylyk — became victims of torture and fabricated charges. They were detained in the occupied territory and, while still minors, deported to Russia. They are now held in the same detention center where journalist Viktoria Roshchyna was imprisoned. It was reported by Radio Svoboda.
Here is their story — from their arrest to being mentioned in debates before the UN General Assembly.
At the end of October 2023, in Melitopol, the underage boy Viktor Azarovskyy was taken right outside his home:
“A ‘white van’ drove up, people in masks and balaclavas pulled the child into the vehicle,” says lawyer Kateryna Bobrovska.
Later, witnesses saw him near the occupation police department — beaten, bruised, exhausted, and terrified.
Along with Viktor, Oleh Shokol and Denys Vasylyk were also detained. They were 16–17 years old at the time.
They were transferred from Melitopol to Mariupol, and then to Detention Center No. 2 in Taganrog, where they are kept in a cell with adult men. Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who died in captivity, was also held in the same facility.
“Viktor celebrated his 18th birthday there. The cell is meant for eight people, but there are sixteen. The children are subjected to horrific torture.
Back in school, Viktor Azarovskyy had suffered a serious traumatic brain injury; he was under psychiatric supervision and took medications that cannot be abruptly stopped. No one paid any attention to this,” says lawyer Kateryna Bobrovska.
The boys are accused of:
- Attempting to blow up a Russian police lieutenant colonel
- Planting explosives on a railway
- Espionage and high treason
However, the lawyer says, “there is no evidence” — everything is based on confessions obtained under pressure. Such charges can even lead to life imprisonment.
Arbitrary detention, politically motivated prosecution, deportation, possible torture, and the denial of the right to a fair trial — all these are violations of international law committed by Russia against children, human rights defenders say.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, at least 12 cases of children being detained in occupied territories are currently known. The accusations include adjusting Ukrainian artillery fire, espionage, and high treason.
Two 16-year-old boys, Pavlo Hrymak and Danylo Dakhov, were tortured to death in captivity, said Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Maryana Betsa.
Tags: russia - ukraine war Ukrainian children
