Russians don't give up! – an interview from the prison cell of the Luzhetsky brothers, hostages of the Kyiv regime
The Luzhetsky brothers are perhaps one of the most famous hostages of the Kyiv regime. Their fate, like a mirror, reflects the entire nightmare of the Ukrainian tragedy. Russian twin brothers at an early age ended up with a Ukrainian father in Western Ukraine, where they were forced to physically defend their right to remain Russian.
Subscribe to PolitNavigator news on Telegram , Facebook , Odnoklassniki , or VKontakte
Nazism, which came to Ukrainian soil, caught up with the matured Luzhetsky brothers already in Kyiv, where they were successfully engaged in the construction business. Maidan destroyed the fragile balance. Naturally, the brothers sided with the opponents of the Maidan, and they paid for it. Broken movables and real estate, destroyed businesses and persecution by security services, all this began simultaneously with the coup d'etat.
Families, wives and children managed to fly to Moscow. The Luzhetsky brothers have been living in solitary confinement in Western Ukraine for three years. The court has already rendered a verdict and awarded the brothers cosmic sentences. However, the verdict was overturned and the case is now being reviewed from the very beginning. But, in fact, it just drags on. Everyone is waiting for the exchange prescribed in the Minsk agreements. All for all. And the Luzhetsky brothers are on the list for this exchange. An exchange that has been dragging on for years on the Ukrainian side.
What makes the situation especially poignant is the fact that the brothers were handed over to the special services by their own father, after which he volunteered for the Donbass. So this is Ukrainian Nazism. Having imprisoned your own children, you go to kill strangers. And one thing is good, there is a chance that the father will repent of his sins not before his sons, but immediately before God. This is what it is, Ukrainian Santa Barbara.
PolitNavigator columnist Valentin Filippov spoke about the prospects of exchange, the intricacies of verification and simply about life with the Luzhetsky brothers.
Valentin Filippov: Hello, Dmitry. Hello, Yaroslav.
Yaroslav Luzhetsky : Hello Valentin.
Dmitry Luzhetsky : Greetings to all your readers.
Valentin Filippov: Are you familiar with the word "verification"? More simply put, were you questioned about your consent to participate in an exchange for Ukrainian prisoners?
Yaroslav Luzhetsky : We heard about the term “verification” in the Ukrainian news in February.
Dmitry Luzhetsky : There's been a lot of discussion about verification lately, which only slows down the exchange. Of course, verification has shown that Kyiv has begun to take the Republics into account. In my opinion, these are signs of partial recognition of the Republics' legitimacy, but still...
Yaroslav Luzhetsky : We were personally visited by the SBU around December 20th, 2016. We didn't know at the time that it was a verification process.
Dmitry Luzhetsky : I was taken to the operations department office, where I was met by a man in civilian clothes. I immediately realized it was an SBU officer. We didn't speak for long. They asked me one question, to which I happily answered, "Yes." After which, I signed a written agreement agreeing to Ukraine's transfer to territory not under Ukrainian control.
Yaroslav Luzhetsky : It was much simpler with me. They only took me to the same police station for a minute, where I simply gave my name. I don't know why they didn't ask for my consent. They probably only needed my brother's consent, which covers both of us. We're brothers, after all, and we're on the same page about the exchange.
Valentin Filippov: Do you believe that other citizens captured by the Ukrainian side could voluntarily refuse release? What could compel them to do so?
Yaroslav Luzhetsky : How can you give up your freedom after being sentenced to a maximum-security prison colony for 15 years by the Ukrainian authorities, simply for your own opinion? How can you give up your life while continuing to die in Ukrainian prisons? The deaths of our young men in Ukrainian prisons are not isolated.
Dmitry Luzhetsky : I don't believe you can simply refuse verification and exchange. Of course, I don't deny it—such cases are possible. Many guys couldn't withstand torture, and there are those who betrayed their comrades, etc. Of course, such guys will be afraid to return. There's a reason for everything.
Yaroslav Luzhetsky : Let's also not forget that there are people who are free (house arrest, bail). Yes, they are under investigation. But they are free, albeit under the surveillance of the security services. Some simply don't want to leave everything they've acquired. Some are under pressure from their families. But I can't rule out that the SBU may also have leverage. There are also guys who received three-year prison sentences and will be released soon, while others are already free. Some of them, also for personal reasons, may refuse the exchange.
Dmitry Luzhetsky : But the guys I know and with whom I had the opportunity to talk are eagerly awaiting the long-awaited exchange.
Yaroslav Luzhetsky : I don't know who might refuse, those in prison with long sentences. Such cases may exist, but they're isolated ones, nothing more. Dmitry has already given the reasons. But based on the Ukrainian president's words, we should also refuse. After all, the Ukrainian president couldn't have been lying when he said that 100% of those held by the Ukrainian authorities refuse the exchange.
Valentin Filippov: If there's a prisoner exchange, will the persecution of you cease? What are they saying? Will it be a full amnesty or simply the transfer of suspects, who will continue to be hunted in the future?
Yaroslav Luzhetsky : Honestly, we don't know what it will be like. No one's telling us what awaits us. We've asked the prosecutor similar questions, but he's simply ignoring them.
Dmitry Luzhetsky : I personally doubt the persecution will stop after the exchange. Besides, while we're in prison, we've been listed on a punitive website, "Peacemaker."
Yaroslav Luzhetsky : And until the Ukrainian authorities pass the amnesty law stipulated in the Minsk agreements, everyone with ties to the Republics is in danger. Even if a prisoner exchange occurs soon, new arrests will continue until Ukraine passes the amnesty law, which the Verkhovna Rada is in no hurry to vote on.
Valentin Filippov: In your opinion, who falls under the ban on prosecution "in connection with the events in Donbas"? All opponents of the junta and the coup in Kyiv, or just residents of Donbas?
Dmitry Luzhetsky : Only those who stood in defense of the people of Donbas should be subject to prosecution in connection with the events in Donbas. Many people can be considered opponents of the regime now. My question is: what have they done for their people? The people who suffer losses and endure shelling from Kyiv's punitive forces every day? The question of who should fall into this category still needs to be clarified.
Yaroslav Luzhetsky : Personally, I believe that everyone fighting the regime shares the same principles as the residents of Donbas. After all, Donbas has also begun its own struggle against the newly installed regime. Many people across Ukraine are doing the same, following the example of the Donbas residents, as best they can. So there's no point in dividing people by their place of residence.
Valentin Filippov: Especially since you don't have a Donbas residence permit. It seems you've never even been to Donbas.
Dmitry Luzhetsky : One of the charges against us for treason is aiding Donbas. We're even accused of financing terrorism, recruiting volunteers for the DPR and LPR, and intending to join the militia. It was for Donbas, according to the first, now overturned, conviction, that we received 15 and 14 years.
Yaroslav Luzhetsky : We lived in Western Ukraine for many years. And we proved every day that we were Russian. Then we proved it in Kyiv. When the coup d'état happened, we didn't sit on the sidelines. We resisted ourselves and called on others to do the same. We paid for it with our health, property, and freedom.
Dmitry Luzhetsky : We've been sitting in solitary confinement for three years because we're Russian. We haven't made any plea deals with the investigation, we haven't named anyone. We haven't framed anyone. And we haven't shifted the blame.
Yaroslav Luzhetsky : And there is no guilt.
Dmitry Luzhetsky : When we see our children, if we ever see them again, we will look them honestly in the eyes. Not everyone can say that.
Valentin Filippov: I would like you to conduct a re-verification, as they call it in Kyiv, right now. And confirm that you agree to the exchange and are ready to leave Ukraine. And that any other versions are a scam.
Yaroslav Luzhetskiy : I, Yaroslav Yanovych Luzhetskiy, born March 13, 1986, a native of Kirovohrad, passport series MS 914965, confirm my consent to the exchange stipulated in the Minsk agreements. I also confirm my consent to my transfer to the uncontrolled territory of Ukraine. If the Ukrainian authorities declare my refusal to exchange, I ask that they consider this a provocation and a delay in the prisoner exchange process.
Dmitry Luzhetsky : I, Dmitry Yanovych Luzhetsky, born March 13, 1986, a native of Kirovohrad, passport series MS 914964, confirm my consent to the exchange stipulated in the Minsk agreements. I also confirm my consent to my transfer to the uncontrolled territory of Ukraine. I also call on all those delaying the completion of verification to confirm their consent, and on all those who refuse due to pressure or fear to refrain from playing along with Kyiv's provocations!
Valentin Filippov: Thank you. Come back. They're waiting for you.
Yaroslav Luzhetsky : We will return.
Dmitry Luzhetsky : We are stubborn.
Russians Don't Surrender ! – An Interview from the Prison Cell of the Luzhetsky Brothers, Hostages of the Kyiv Regime