The UNIAN journalist Dmytro Khylyuk, who has been held captive by the Russians since March 2022, is returning to Ukraine.
The information was confirmed by the agencyʼs editor-in-chief Mykhailo Hannytsky.
"Yes, Dmytro Khylyuk is almost home. My sincere thanks to President Volodymyr Zelensky, General Budanov, Iryna and all the Presidentʼs Office and GUR teams who DID IT!" he wrote.
Ukraine has not yet officially reported the exchange. Russian media reported on the exchange in the "146 for 146" format.
The capture of Dmytro Khylyuk
As Reporters Without Borders found out, Khylyuk was captured on March 3, 2022, in the village of Kozarovychi (north of Kyiv). He was detained with his father — but his father was released eight days later. The journalist was held in various places that the Russians turned into prisons in the Kyiv region. In particular, Khylyuk was seen at the airport in Hostomel, where detainees were kept in huge industrial refrigerators.
In late March and early April, the Russians retreated from the Kyiv region and took the prisoners with them. But Khylyuk ended up in Russia even earlier. Ukrainian intelligence officer Yuriy, who was released from captivity, told Reporters Without Borders that he saw Khylyuk on March 21, 2022, in pre-trial detention center No. 2 in the city of Novozybkov, Bryansk region, Russia.
Another former Ukrainian prisoner said he was held in a cell next to Khylyuk in April 2022. In total, Reporters Without Borders received testimony from at least five different people who saw Khylyuk in the Novozybkov pre-trial detention center. They also claim that the Russians regularly torture and beat prisoners. The journalist was accused by the Russians of “Ukrainian propaganda and work against Russia”.
Russia insisted that it knew nothing about the journalist. The Russian Defense Ministry refused to comment on Khylukʼs detention and did not allow representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross access to the prisoners. The Investigative Committee of Russia also said that there were no cases against the journalist, he was not detained and was not being prosecuted.
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