Journalist Dmytro Khilyuk, who was released from Russian captivity on August 24, spoke about the total information vacuum in captivity. He said this in a commentary for the media, which was recorded by journalist Stas Kozliuk, Detector Media reports. When asked whether Dmytro knew about the de-occupation of Kherson, he said that he did not.
Dmytro Khilyuk is a correspondent for the UNIAN news agency. He was abducted by Russians from his home near Kyiv in the first days of the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Dmytro Khyliuk in Russian captivity
Photo: Facebook by Dmytro Khyliuk
Author: Dmytro Khilyuk
According to Khilyuk, no one in captivity received letters.
“A complete information vacuum, absolutely complete. And the biggest concern was, of course, not about myself, but about finding my parents alive. Fortunately, they are alive, and I talked to them. I know that everything is fine, and it’s a weight off my shoulders,” said Dmytro.
When asked whether he was aware of the liberation of Kherson, the journalist denied it, adding that he did not even know what time it was in captivity.
“What Kherson is like is a total lack of any information. We didn’t even know what time it was. For the first time in three and a half years, I saw a watch on a bus in Belarus, when we were being taken from the airport to Ukraine to the border. The only things we saw there (in Russian captivity – Ed.) were the painted cell windows, a piece of sky from the window that was open for ventilation, and we only see asphalt because we walk with our legs bent down. We don’t see green grass in the literal sense of the word, we don’t see birds, the only thing we’ve seen are crows on observation towers over the years.” – the journalist said.
According to him, to keep track of dates, they kept their own calendar in the cell, memorizing dates, recalling the birthdays of their loved ones in the cells, and their own. “It’s very scary, it’s not only an information vacuum, but a vacuum of everything,” the journalist said.
Dmytro Khilyuk also said that he plans to return to his job.
On August 24, Independence Day, Ukraine returned 146 people from Russian captivity as part of another exchange. In particular, former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolayenko was released as part of the exchange. He had been in Russian captivity since April 2022.
Source: “Watermelon.City”
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