Kharkiv region resident Mykhailo Slobodian, abducted by Russians in 2023, remains missing

Russian occupying troops abducted Mykhailo Slobodian, a resident of the village of Bohdanivka, Kharkiv Oblast, from his home on 8 March 2023. The 36-year-old man was likely held in a basement at a Russian military headquarters and later taken away in an unknown direction, his mother, Svitlana Slobodian, told ZMINA. He is currently listed as missing.

Mykhailo Slobodian. Photo credit: Svitlana Slobodian

At the start of the full-scale war, Svitlana and her husband were living in Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast, which was then occupied by Russian forces. In September 2022, after the city was liberated, they moved to the occupied village of Bohdanivka, where their three sons were living. Immediately after the move, she began urging her children and husband to leave as soon as possible. Once conditions became completely unbearable, their middle son left first, followed by Svitlana Slobodian and then the youngest son.

“Before that, the occupiers forced my younger son at gunpoint to pull their military vehicles out of the mud. Then they came to the service station where he worked and told him he had to repair their vehicles. To avoid this, he wore a cast on his arm for a long time. Someone from the village told the Russians that he could operate agricultural machinery and repair vehicles. The Russians themselves said this,” the woman says.

Svitlana Slobodian’s eldest son, Mykhailo, remained in the occupied village with his wife and children. He continued working at his former job at the agricultural enterprise “Rodina”, taking care of cattle. Instead of wages, the farm management paid workers with food.

“At that time, there was no electricity, gas or phone service in the village. We survived as best we could. At first, we stayed together until we eventually went our separate ways“, Svitlana Slobodian recalls.

On 25 December 2022, Mykhailo persuaded his wife to leave with their children for territory under Ukrainian government control. Due to constant shelling of the village, he was deeply concerned for their safety. He remained at home to look after the household – cows, calves, chickens, dogs and parrots.

“He believed it was his land and his home, and saw no reason to leave. He said it would be easier for him on his own“, his mother adds.

Later, Mykhailo called Svitlana and said he planned to leave Bohdanivka once the ground had dried. He made this decision after occupying forces had come to his home twice to carry out searches.

“They would come in without a word, turn the whole house upside down, go over all the documents and then leave. They never explained anything. That was when he realised they would not let him live in peace“, the woman said.

On 8 March 2023, after speaking to his wife on the phone, Mykhailo was about to call his mother to congratulate her on the holiday, but did not have time.

According to witnesses, that evening, occupying forces broke through the metal gate, forced open the front door, entered the house and abducted Mykhailo. They turned the entire home upside down, throwing open every cupboard. The floor was covered in muddy footprints, and their parrots were lying dead inside the cage.

“Acquaintances, hearing the cattle lowing in the morning, came to Mykhailo’s house and found it in complete disarray. Documents relating to the land and the house, Mykhailo’s passport, money, and other belongings, were missing. Witnesses believe he resisted, as his jacket and hat were left on the floor. They did not even allow him to get dressed“, Svitlana Slobodian said.

The following day, the Russian occupiers returned to Slobodian’s house, searched it again and took his Nissan car. Villagers later saw someone driving Mykhailo’s car around the village, but without licence plates.

Later, relatives who remained under occupation sold Mykhailo’s livestock.

On 14 March 2023, an acquaintance told Svitlana Slobodian that Mykhailo was allegedly being held in the cellar of a house in the centre of the village, where the occupiers had their headquarters. However, when he went there and asked the Russians about Slobodian, they said they had no such person. That same day, his mother received a text message saying that Mykhailo’s phone was “back online”.

“They said all detainees were brought to that house and then taken away somewhere else. I know that both Russian forces and militants from the self-proclaimed “LPR” were stationed in the village“, his mother said.

Later, at a checkpoint, occupying forces told one of Svitlana’s acquaintances not to worry about Mykhailo. According to the Russians, he would be held for five days, forced to memorise the Russian anthem and laws, and then released.

“One day, this acquaintance was walking down the street when a soldier who recognised her approached. He stopped and said that Mykhailo and another man had been taken out of the settlement“, Svitlana Slobodian said.

According to a former detainee who reportedly saw Mykhailo, he is being unlawfully held in Russia’s Belgorod region.

A week after Mykhailo disappeared, occupying forces took his co-worker from the farm. Unlike Slobodian, this man’s whereabouts have been confirmed by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

After their son was abducted, his parents filed a report with the police and sought assistance from various Ukrainian and international bodies. They also sent inquiries to the authorities of the so-called “LPR/DPR” regarding Mykhailo’s whereabouts, but were told he was not in their custody. Russian state authorities, meanwhile, continue to ignore all their requests.

Svitlana Slobodian continues to search for her son, gathering any information about him piece by piece. She describes Mykhailo as an energetic, positive, cheerful and sociable person who can get along with anyone.

“Mykhailo has a large scar from an appendicitis operation. He also had varicose veins and often suffered from recurring throat infections“, his mother added.

In 2024, around 30,000 Ukrainian citizens were officially recorded as missing, including both military personnel and civilians. The Unified Register of Persons Missing in Special Circumstances now contains more than 71,000 entries.

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.

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