Former State Emergency Service employee Serhii Yeromenko, held by the Kremlin, urgently needs eye surgery
Serhii Yeromenko, a resident of the village of Novooleksandrivka in occupied Luhansk Oblast, risks losing his sight due to cataracts and urgently needs surgery, his daughter, Polina Yeromenko, told ZMINA.
Serhii Yeromenko. Photo from family archiveShe says her father was first held in a Starobilsk Pre-trial Detention Centre and later transferred to Vakhrusheve in the Luhansk Oblast. He is currently being held in Penal Colony No. 11 in Brianka, Luhansk Oblast.
“He is in a barrack divided into two sections. My father is held in the one with regular beds rather than bunk beds. At least an older man does not have to climb to an upper bunk“, she noted.
His daughter said her father filed complaints about his deteriorating health due to high blood pressure and worsening cataracts. However, he has received no medical care.
“He needs eye surgery. He cannot see at all in one eye and can barely see with the other. He also has problems with his hip and walks with a cane. When his stomach ulcer worsened, he took the medication we sent him and felt slightly better. Overall, his health is in poor condition“, Polina said.
You may also want to read: More than 60 Crimean political prisoners are already in need of urgent medical care: How to solve this problem
Due to his poor health, he has been exempted from work and now either rests or goes outside for fresh air.
His relatives occasionally send him parcels and medication and write to him.
“He is an elderly man who is of no interest to anyone there. It is unclear why they are keeping him. We hope he will be released“, Polina said.
FSB officers detained Serhii Yeromenko, a resident of the village of Novooleksandrivka in the Luhansk Oblast, on 22 November 2022. He was first held in Sievierodonetsk and later transferred to a pre-trial detention centre in Luhansk.
For some time, the Russian forces held the 70-year-old pensioner, a former State Emergency Service worker, in Lefortovo Pre-Trial Detention Centre in Moscow. He was charged under Article 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, “espionage”, for allegedly adjusting fire for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
On 24 November 2022, Serhii Yeromenko sent voice messages to his family via Telegram, saying he was still alive. Later, representatives of the so-called “Luhansk People’s Republic” sent a video of him to confirm he was alive.
Later, a witness released by the Russian occupiers told Polina that he had seen Yeromenko at a military commandant’s office in Sievierodonetsk. After learning that her father was there, her relatives travelled to the city and brought a parcel to him. About a month later, when the family tried to send another package, the military told them that Yeromenko was no longer there.
In July 2024, Serhii was unlawfully sentenced to 13.5 years in a high-security penal colony.
The Human Rights Centre ZMINA, along with Ukrainian and international partners, documents enforced disappearances, detentions, and abductions of civilians in the temporarily occupied territories. If your relatives have gone missing or you fear they may have been abducted, please contact us at ys@zmina.ua. Our representative will get in touch with you.
The information provided, subject to the applicant’s consent, will be used in submissions to national and international investigative bodies, as well as to international organisations for inclusion in periodic reports, including the UN Committee against Torture, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, the International Criminal Court, and others, to support the documentation and investigation of war crimes committed in Ukraine and help bring those responsible to justice.
Stay connected with us via X, BlueSky, and LinkedIn – and while you’re here, please spare five minutes to fill out our survey and tell us what you’d like to see next.
