Wołodymyr Mykolajenko served as Mera Kherson in 2014-2020, during the period of serious reforms in Ukraine. Thanks to the decentralization of local communities and the authorities, for the first time in decades, began to manage their own budgets themselves. Under his leadership in Cherson there were many positive changes: the infrastructure has improved significantly, and modern public transport was introduced.
When in 2022 Russia invasion of Ukraine, Mykolajenko joined the local territorial defense. After Kherson's occupation by Putin's army in March 2022, he was kidnapped and spent over three years in Russian captivity, where he was tortured many times. After three years, he was released as part of the exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine.
After the release of Mykolajenko, he gave an interview in Ukrainian journalists of the local website Most, who, despite the threat of the Russians, did not stop working after the outbreak of the war in the occupied city. Here are the most important fragments of their conversation:
Kidnapping of Volodymyr mykindle
Imprisonment and torture
“They threw me into the” isolation ” – a small basement in the Regional Police Department, used to keep prisoners. It was moist and cold, still liquid water. And I was wearing light clothes – it was spring. They kept me there for an hour, and then took me to the interrogation:” You left them to lead your resistance? They beat me brutally – and so it was every day. [miejscowości w rosyjskim obwodzie włodzimierskim, w której funkcjonował łagier i kolonia karna]”.
“Journalist” asks questions by playing with a club
They brought this vangezka [Iwana Litomina, rosyjskiego propagandystę telewizyjnego]. He immediately told me: “After all what you said and did, you will never leave the live prison.” First they questioned me outside the camera, then in front of the camera, and then again outside the camera, because they did not get what they wanted from me. They said: »We will take you to the program [jednego z najbardziej rozpoznawalnych rosyjskich propagandystów Władimira] Sołowjowa «. I replied that they would not even get a single word out of me. They replied: “You will say”. It never happens that you are alone with a “journalist”. »Journalist» Asks questions, standing in front of you and playing with a club.
