Source: www.forum18.org
Date: June 25, 2026
https://www.forum18.org/archiv
By Felix Corley, Forum 18
Recruitment Office officials seized 50-year-old Council of Churches Baptist
Dmytro Koval on the evening of 1 March. After rejecting his refusal of
military service on grounds of conscience and request to perform an
alternative civilian service, officials transferred him to the military. On
6 March, he arrived at the Skelya Assault Regiment in Dnipropetrovsk
Region. He died there on 21 March. His death certificate recorded the cause
as "pulmonary-cardiac insufficiency, unspecified". It said he had died "in
a car". When returned to his family, his body showed signs of brutal
treatment.
"They hit him on the head a lot. They grabbed him by the neck and threw him
- lifted him up and threw him again. They kicked him and punched him," one
man in the same military unit told the journalist Kateryna Likhohliad (see
below).
When officials returned Koval's body on 30 March, his face was
unrecognisable. "His wife was able to recognise her husband's body only by
his moles, the shape of his ears, facial wrinkles, and other distinctive
features," Council of Churches Baptists noted on 31 March. "The body bears
numerous injuries (bruises, contusions, a wound on the back, a depression
in the chest behind the heart, and bruising on the neck). This raises many
unanswered questions. Therefore, additional examinations will likely be
ordered." The family have not been given a copy of a second forensic
examination of the body (see below).
Uncertainty surrounds the state of the investigation. Koval's family have
had no updates on any case against those responsible for his violent death.
"Unfortunately, there is no new information at the moment," his widow
Liliya Koval told Forum 18. "No one has been held responsible. Up till now,
it has not even been possible to obtain the results of the second forensic
medical examination."
"I have the impression that this crime is being covered up," Liliya Koval
added. "Because, as far as I know, the criminal case was closed. Only a
week later, the prosecutor's office overturned the decision to close the
case. However, for almost three months, nothing has been done by the police
or other state authorities" (see below).
No-one appears to have been prosecuted for Koval's violent death. Serhiy
Popika of Kovel District Police, who is leading the pre-trial
investigation, refused to say whether anyone has yet been arrested in the
case. "I can't give any information," he told Forum 18 and put the phone
down (see below).
Journalist Kateryna Likhohliad investigated the high death rate at the
425th Assault Regiment Skelya where Koval was killed. She found 26
non-combat deaths over a six-month period from late 2025, with many of
those men dying within a month of arrival (see below).
Deputy Military Ombudsperson Ruslan Tsygankov admitted in April that the
Skelya Regiment was one of two about which his office had received many
complaints of torture. "These two units, in addition to their
effectiveness, carry very high risks precisely in the context of violating
the rights of servicemen. We understand this, and these two units are under
our watch," he said (see below).
The Military Ombudsperson's Office in Kyiv did not respond to Forum 18's
request for an interview about the alleged murder of Koval and the torture
of other conscientious objectors while held against their will on military
bases (see below).
Between March and April, three Jehovah's Witnesses – Serhiy Batiuzhenko,
Eduard Martens and Ruslan Korobeinyk, all of them in their early fifties -
were tortured at the same army training unit near Pidlisne, Dnipropetrovsk
Region, for refusing military service as conscientious objectors. A
military instructor beat them unconscious, while other soldiers mocked
their faith, and withheld medical care (see below).
Investigators Slidyak and Andreyeva are leading the pre-trial investigation
in relation to the torture of Batiuzhenko and Martens (Korobeinyk's torture
appears not to be under investigation). The State Bureau of Investigation's
Third Investigation Department located in Dnipro did not respond to Forum
18's request for an interview with them. Forum 18 has received no response
to its written questions:
- Whether any suspects have been arrested;
- If so, when a trial is expected;
- and if not, why not (see below).
Recruitment offices have seized many men between the ages of 25 and 59 who
refused to serve in the military on grounds of conscience and transferred
them to military units. Of these, at least 49 men are from Council of
Churches Baptist communities. They are still being held, despite expressing
a willingness to perform alternative civilian service (see below).
The Parliamentary Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsperson) Dmytro Lubinets
admitted problems in the way Recruitment Offices seize men to be mobilised
in his report for 2025, presented to parliament in May 2026. However, he
made only passing reference to the torture of conscientious objectors, as
well as conscripts, once in military units (see below).
Yurii Sheliazhenko of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement complained that "the
Ombudsman's report ignores a problem of torture and cruel treatment of
conscientious objectors and other conscripts" (see below).
In March, the United Nations (UN) Independent International Commission of
Inquiry on Ukraine renewed earlier UN concern about the lack of the
possibility of conducting alternative civilian service at a time of war. It
has also expressed concern about violence against conscientious objectors
who have been forcibly taken to military bases (see below).
Meanwhile, trials and jailings of conscientious objectors continue across
the country.
On 9 March, a court in Mykolaiv Region jailed 42-year-old Jehovah's Witness
conscientious objector Volodymyr Klementiev for six years
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Court rejected his appeal on 14 May. "To date, this is the longest prison
sentence imposed on one of our brothers since the war in Ukraine began,"
Jehovah's Witnesses noted. The previous longest prison sentence was of five
years.
On successive days in June, a court in Chernihiv Region found two
Seventh-day Adventist conscientious objectors guilty. The Judges jailed
Andrii Skliar and Ihor Kiktev – both in their thirties - for a combined
period of 5 years and one month each
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
"Meanwhile, hundreds more of our brothers await criminal prosecution,
including the possibility of lengthy prison sentences," Jehovah's Witnesses
added. "Many of these brothers have been forcibly taken to military
facilities, where they have sometimes been held for days or even months.
Once there, they often face physical abuse and emotional pressure to
compromise their neutral stand."
The Rule of Law Roadmap, adopted by Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers on 14
May 2025, identifies priority reform areas in the fields of the judiciary,
prevention of and fight against corruption, protection of fundamental
rights, as well as justice, freedom and security. The document forms part
of Ukraine's commitments under the EU accession process (see forthcoming
F18News article).
The Roadmap identifies a "strategic goal": "The right to conscientious
objection to military service on grounds of religious belief is ensured
during martial law." The Roadmap sets a deadline of the end of June for
"Development and adoption of a law on ensuring the right to undergo
alternative service during martial law, for a special period". The
government has assigned the task of preparing the new Law to the Ministry
of Economy, Environment and Agriculture (see forthcoming F18News article).
Severe human rights violations in Russian-occupied Ukraine
Serious violations of freedom of religion and belief and other human rights
take place within all the Ukrainian territory Russia has illegally occupied
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Torture, corruption in Recruitment Offices
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine, Recruitment
Offices have been a focus of concern. The government has frequently
replaced the heads of local offices.
By late 2023, the State Bureau of Investigation (which investigates crimes
by senior officials) was dealing with 260 cases of alleged crimes
(including bribery and torture) at regional Recruitment Offices and
military medical commissions, it announced on 10 October 2023
(https://dbr.gov.ua/news/dbr-r
Officials began investigations in 2024 after the deaths in Recruitment
Offices
(https://kyivindependent.com/m
of several men who had been called up for mobilisation.
The United Nations (UN) Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(https://www.ohchr.org/en/inst
defines torture as "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether
physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such
purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a
confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or
is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a
third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when
such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the
consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an
official capacity".
Under the Convention, Ukraine is obliged both to arrest any person
suspected on good grounds of having committed torture "or take other legal
measures to ensure his [sic] presence", and also to try them under criminal
law which makes "these offences punishable by appropriate penalties which
take into account their grave nature".
Ombudsperson "ignores" torture of conscientious objectors
The Parliamentary Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsperson) Dmytro Lubinets
has admitted problems in the way Recruitment Offices seize men to be
mobilised. However, he has made only passing reference to the torture of
conscientious objectors, as well as conscripts, once in military units.
"Violations of rights are reported in 1,669 appeals from individuals who,
despite their religious convictions, were sent to military units, contrary
to Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which provides grounds for
replacing military duty with alternative (non-military) service," Lubinets
wrote in his report for 2025
(https://www.ombudsman.gov.ua/
He presented the report to parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, on 13 May 2026.
Lubinets added: "The unlawful restriction of citizens' freedom of movement
by [Recruitment Office] staff, the abuse of authority during detention, the
unlawful seizure of personal belongings and mobile communication devices,
the infliction of bodily harm, the conscription of citizens despite the
existence of deferrals (reserve status) and other violations of rights
negatively impact the state's image and discredit the mobilisation
processes in Ukraine."
Yurii Sheliazhenko of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement complained in a 12
June article (https://en.connection-ev.org/
Ombudsman's report ignores a problem of torture and cruel treatment of
conscientious objectors and other conscripts".
Renewed UN concern for conscientious objectors
The United Nations (UN) Independent International Commission of Inquiry on
Ukraine has renewed earlier UN concern about the lack of the possibility of
conducting alternative civilian service at a time of war. It has also
expressed concern about violence against conscientious objectors who have
been forcibly taken to military bases. It raised these concerns in a report
to the UN Human Rights Council (A/HRC/61/61
(https://www.ohchr.org/sites/d
made public on 9 March 2026.
The Commission interviewed "men who have been active members of four
different religious groups long before the onset of the full-scale
invasion. All of them have refused to carry out a military activity and
expressed readiness to carry out alternative civil service."
"Conscientious objectors interviewed reported that regardless of their
express refusal to carry out any military activity, they have been taken by
force to a Territorial Centre for Recruitment and further to a military
camp," the UN Commission noted.
"Several among them experienced or witnessed physical violence, including
beatings by staff of a Territorial Centre for Recruitment and the military
personnel. They reported that in the military camps, they were subjected to
punishment and psychological pressure, such as mock executions, confinement
in a pit dug in the ground for long periods, including in winter; threats
of sexual violence; and denial of food."
"The rapid manner in which men are mobilized for recruitment by the
authorities, sometimes ignoring legitimate medical conditions or other
impediments, combined with the lack of access to legal assistance, makes it
difficult to challenge the legality of the process. It may take months
before a court can rule on the legality of the mobilization, a period
during which the person continues to serve in the armed forces. And even if
the court decides that a person was mobilized illegally, the mobilization
is generally considered irreversible."
The UN Commission concluded: "While Ukraine is operating under martial law
and facing an armed conflict, compliance with legal obligations in the
context of mobilization remains essential to ensuring an appropriate
balance between citizens' rights and duties and to maintaining public trust
in the authorities."
The UN Commission called on Ukraine to monitor the mobilisation process
"with particular attention to the initial stage under the Territorial
Centre for Recruitment, to ensure that all rights of persons mobilized are
respected, including the right to legal assistance and conscientious
objection". It also called on Ukraine: "Prevent and cease any form of
violence during the mobilization and deployment process and ensure the
effective and impartial investigation and prosecution of any violation."
Koval: Violent death at notorious military base
On the evening of 1 March, Council of Churches Baptist Dmytro Bohdanovych
Koval (born 30 January 1976), a resident of the village of Lublynets in the
north-western Volyn Region, went missing. His family filed a missing person
report with the police.
"On 1 March, at about 8:00 pm, [Koval] went for a walk and did not return,"
Volyn Police noted on its website
(https://vl.npu.gov.ua/news/po
on the afternoon of 2 March. "The Volyn resident did not take his phone,
money, or documents with him." Police asked anyone with information on his
whereabouts to get in touch.
Although his family did not know it, Recruitment Office officials in
Tlumach, Ivano-Frankivsk Region (where he was registered) had seized Koval
as he sought to clarify his status. He told officials he was not refusing
his duties to the state, but asked for an alternative civilian service on
grounds of conscience in line with Article 35 of the Constitution.
Officials refused this.
By On 6 March, the military transferred Koval to a military unit in
Dnipropetrovsk Region, the 425th Assault Regiment Skelya (A4862). The
commander of the regiment is Andrii Surai.
Koval's family had no direct contact with him once he was taken to the
military. "Communication with him practically ceased," Council of Churches
Baptists noted. "All that was possible to obtain from him was a short voice
message dictated under close supervision. In it, Koval asked for heightened
prayer and urgent help, emphasising that he was in a difficult situation."
The family received the message on 8 March from an unknown number.
Koval was last seen alive by others at the military base on 14 March.
Koval died in the military unit on 21 March, just 15 days after arriving
there, according to the official account. Only on 26 March were his family
informed of his death, Council of Churches Baptists note. Two days later, a
forensic medical examination of his body – conducted by Dr I. Burov (and
seen by Forum 18) - claimed he had died of "pulmonary-cardiac
insufficiency, unspecified". It said he had died "in a car".
Koval: High non-combat death rate
Journalist Kateryna Likhohliad investigated the high death rate at the
425th Assault Regiment Skelya. She found 26 non-combat deaths over a
six-month period from late 2025, with many of those men dying within a
month of arrival, she wrote on 23 June
(https://babel.ua/texts/127938
on the Babel news website. She cited Koval among the 26 cases.
"Dmytro was silent and frightened, praying for six to seven hours a day and
refusing to eat at all," those in the unit with Koval told Likhohliad.
"Some of those interviewed assume that the man was fasting. Others say that
he was protesting."
One individual told Likhohliad: "He started talking about some of his
rights. They just silenced him. They beat him, and he shouts: 'Guys, why
are you beating me?' I look at his face - he doesn't understand what's
happening at all."
Beatings followed Koval's refusals to eat. "He was beaten every day. He was
beaten the hardest when he promised the guards that he would eat, but when
he came to the canteen he refused," Likhohliad wrote. "They hit him on the
head a lot. They grabbed him by the neck and threw him - lifted him up and
threw him again. They kicked him and punched him," one witness told the
journalist.
Koval was forcibly given intravenous drips, which officials said were
vitamins.
Koval was abused by two medics of the unit with the call signs "Satan" and
"Box", as well as the head of the training ground, all three witnesses who
spoke to Likhohliad testify.
One witness told Likhohliad of how religious conscientious objectors were
held in a pit. Conscripts with mental disorders were often held with them.
Regiment commander Surai insisted in a 21 May interview
(https://suspilne.media/ivano-
with Suspilne news website that phones had to be taken from conscripts to
prevent Russian drones attacking a forest location with many mobile phones.
Asked about the deaths of five conscripts, Surai dismissed claims of abuse.
"We basically don't have punishment cells," he claimed to Suspilne. "We met
with families, and periodically they tell us: he was put 'in a pit'. You
understand: a lot of attention is paid to Skelya. Military commissions,
ombudspersons, and journalists constantly visit us. No one has ever found
the 'pits', never seen them, but everyone is sure that they exist. It's the
same with punishment cells. We don't have punishment cells."
Surai said that the unit must report any death within 24 hours, but to the
Recruitment Office, not to the family. "Based on our notification, they
prepare their documents and have seven days to report the death of a
serviceman."
Deputy Military Ombudsperson Ruslan Tsygankov admitted that the Skelya
Regiment and the 225th Assault Regiment were two about which his office had
received many complaints of torture. "These two units, in addition to their
effectiveness, carry very high risks precisely in the context of violating
the rights of servicemen. We understand this, and these two units are under
our watch," Ruslan Tsygankov told Radio Liberty on 2 April
(https://www.radiosvoboda.org/
less than two weeks after Koval's violent death.
Journalist Likhohliad noted that Koval was recorded as having died from
natural causes. "But there are bruises on his body, and there are also
three witnesses who say that he was beaten every day," she told Hromadske
Radio on 24 June
(https://hromadske.radio/news/
"And that he refused to eat and nothing was done about it. He was further
detained and instead of acting according to the law, handing him over to
law enforcement agencies, they simply beat him."
Commander Surai told the same programme that Koval had refused to eat "for
religious reasons". He did not address whether or not Koval had been
murdered.
The Military Ombudsperson's Office in Kyiv did not respond to Forum 18's 24
June request for an interview.
Oleksii Bratushchak, spokesperson for the Skelya Regiment, did not
immediately respond to Forum 18's 25 June request for an interview.
Koval: Returned body showed signs of torture
When returned to his home town of Kovel on 30 March, nine days after his
alleged murder, Dmytro Koval's body showed signs of brutal treatment.
An examination of Koval's body showed signs of torture, with his face
unrecognisable. "His wife was able to recognise her husband's body only by
his moles, the shape of his ears, facial wrinkles, and other distinctive
features," Council of Churches Baptists noted on 31 March. "The body bears
numerous injuries (bruises, contusions, a wound on the back, a depression
in the chest behind the heart, and bruising on the neck). This raises many
unanswered questions. Therefore, additional examinations will likely be
ordered."
On 31 March, his widow Liliya Koval asked Kovel District Police to open a
pre-trial investigation into her husband's violent death, including under
Criminal Code Articles of murder, torture, illegal abduction and abuse of
power by an official. Not having heard back by 4 April, she lodged a suit
against Kovel District Police to Kovel Inter-District Court about the
failure to open a criminal investigation.
On 6 April, Judge Marina Gridyaeva upheld Liliya Koval's suit, in a
decision seen by Forum 18. The Judge recognised her appeal to Kovel
District Police as containing "objective data and circumstances that may
indicate the commission of a number of criminal offences". The Judge
instructed Kovel Police to initiate a case and enter it into the Unified
Register of Pre-trial Investigations.
On 29 April, several doctors conducted a new forensic medical examination
of Koval's body took place. Officials have not given the result of the
examination to the family. The body was later released for burial.
Koval's Church in Kovel held his funeral and burial
(https://www.youtube.com/watch
closed during the funeral. Funerals are often held in Ukraine with an open
coffin.
Uncertainty surrounds the state of the investigation. The pre-trial
investigation is being led by Serhiy Popika of Kovel District Police. Asked
on 24 June whether anyone has yet been arrested in the case, he refused to
say. "I can't give any information," he told Forum 18 and put the phone
down.
Koval's family have had no updates on any case against those responsible
for his violent death. "Unfortunately, there is no new information at the
moment," his widow Liliya Koval told Forum 18 on 23 June. "No one has been
held responsible. Up till now, it has not even been possible to obtain the
results of the second forensic medical examination."
"I have the impression that this crime is being covered up," Liliya Koval
added. "Because, as far as I know, the criminal case was closed. Only a
week later, the prosecutor's office overturned the decision to close the
case. However, for almost three months, nothing has been done by the police
or other state authorities"
Viktor Yelensky, head of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of
Conscience (DESS), told Forum 18 on 24 June that he had not heard of the
alleged murder of Koval in the military unit.
Batiuzhenko: Tortured at military unit
On 17 February, Recruitment Office officials seized Jehovah's Witness
Serhiy Volodymyrovych Batiuzhenko (born 1 July 1973) on the street in the
eastern city of Dnipro as he was going to a hospital appointment. They told
him he had been wanted since 9 February. They forcibly placed him in a car
and took him to the city's Tsentralno-Chechelivka Recruitment Office.
Batiuzhenko told the Recruitment Office staff that he could not perform
military service on grounds of conscience and had been a Jehovah's Witness
for 16 years. "Despite this, he was handcuffed and forcibly placed in a
semi-basement at a former paint and varnish factory near Zakhidny railway
station," Jehovah's Witnesses told Forum 18. They then took him to a
military base in Samariv District, Dnipropetrovsk Region.
At the military base, Batiuzhenko repeatedly explained that he could not
perform military service on grounds of conscience. Military personnel
mocked his religious beliefs. "They took away all his personal belongings
and placed him in a room that they used as a 'guardhouse'," Jehovah's
Witnesses told Forum 18. "The room was not equipped with any acceptable
conditions for keeping people, with a temperature of minus 10 degrees
Celsius."
Officials later took Batiuzhenko to the base's training unit near Pidlisne,
Dnipropetrovsk Region (А4848). At the military base, Batiuzhenko refused
to put on a military uniform. On 13 April, a commander ordered the head of
the training centre to dress Batiuzhenko and fellow Jehovah's Witness
Eduard Martens in white capes "like those worn by Jesus", parade them
before the unit, and beat them.
Later, after both again refused, an instructor struck Batiuzhenko and
Martens several dozen times with a wooden bat across the back, buttocks,
neck, arms, and legs. "You are sectarians," the instructor shouted at them.
"I will beat you until your flesh separates from your bones." He kept
beating them after they passed out.
The next morning, when Batiuzhenko tried to reach the medical unit, guards
threw him into a pit roughly three metres deep. They left him there for
about half a day, where he repeatedly lost consciousness. He developed
pneumonia and a high fever and was hospitalised for 24 days.
Batiuzhenko's documented injuries consisted of extensive bruising across
the buttocks, legs, and arms (the largest bruise measuring 62 cms by 42
cms), and pneumonia. (Forum 18 has seen photographs of the injuries.)
On 27 April, a complaint was filed with the Poltava State Bureau of
Investigation (SBI). It started an official investigation, which appears to
be continuing, according to the pre-trial record seen by Forum 18.
Investigators Andrii Slidyak and A. Andreyeva of the Third Investigation
Department located in the city of Dnipro are investigating the physical
harm to Batiuzhenko "motivated by religious intolerance" under Criminal
Code Article 426-1, Part 4. This punishes "Excess of power or official
authority by a military official" when conducted during a special period.
This carries a jail term of 7 to 10 years. The torture of Martens (see
below) was later added to the same investigation.
Batiuzhenko has been recognised as a victim. He is currently in the city of
Dnipro.
The Third Investigation Department located in Dnipro did not respond to
Forum 18's 24 June request for an interview with Investigators Slidyak or
Andreyeva. Forum 18 then sent written questions:
- Whether any suspects have been arrested in relation to the torture of
Batiuzhenko and Martens;
- If so, when a trial is expected;
- and if not, why not.
Forum 18 had received no response by the afternoon of the working day of 25
June.
Viktor Yelensky, head of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of
Conscience (DESS), said he is aware of the torture of Batiuzhenko, Martens
and Korobeinyk in the military unit. "We are checking this," he told Forum
18 on 24 June. "We have contact with the Jehovah's Witness leadership."
Martens: Tortured at military unit
Officials at Zaporizhzhia's Shevchenko District Recruitment Office seized
53-year-old Jehovah's Witness Eduard Oleksandrovych Martens on 27 March.
They dismissed his insistence that he had been a Jehovah's Witness for 29
years and cannot perform military service on grounds of conscience. They
took him to a military unit, but officials there refused to enrol him
because of his health condition and sent him back to the Recruitment
Office.
The following day, the Recruitment Office took Martens to a different
military base, this time in Samariv District, in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk
Region. "While in the military unit, Martens informed all military
personnel that he was a Jehovah's Witness and due to religious beliefs
could not be a soldier, wear a military uniform, or receive a soldier's
salary," Jehovah's Witnesses told Forum 18.
Later on 28 March, officials took Martens to the military base's training
unit near Pidlisne, Dnipropetrovsk Region (А4848). At the training unit,
he refused both to wear a uniform and to sign consent to military training.
Officials "took Martens to the city of Zaporizhzhia to a 'meeting' with
military personnel unknown to him, and applied psychological pressure to
force him to wear a military uniform", Jehovah's Witnesses said.
On 15 April, an instructor at the training unit beat him alongside Serhiy
Batiuzhenko with a wooden bat (see above).
The next day, the instructor demanded again that Martens put on a uniform.
When he refused, the instructor beat him until Martens convulsed and lost
consciousness. The blows fractured his arm in two places and his wrist. For
a month he received no treatment — his broken arm was merely splinted
with a piece of wood.
Martens still suffers periodic loss of function in one leg and needs
surgery, including a metal implant, for the bones to heal. Despite his
injuries, he remained at his military unit and did not receive proper
medical treatment.
It was only after the State Bureau of Investigation began an investigation
that, on 14 May, Martens was sent to a hospital for treatment.
Martens' documented injuries consisted of two displaced fractures of the
arm, multiple contusions, and pneumonia. He suffers from continuing loss of
function in one leg, for which surgery is still required. (Forum 18 has
seen photographs of the injuries.)
The harm done to Martens was added to the pre-trial criminal investigation
into the harm done to Batiuzhenko. Martens has been recognised as a victim.
Martens is currently in Dnipro Municipal Hospital No. 4, undergoing medical
treatment for the injuries.
Korobeinyk: Tortured at military unit
Officials took Jehovah's Witness Ruslan Korobeinyk, who is 51, to the same
army training unit near Pidlisne, Dnipropetrovsk Region (А4848), despite
his insistence that he cannot perform military service on grounds of
conscience. He requested an alternative civilian service, but officials
refused him this.
At the military unit, Korobeinyk refused to take up arms or to dig firing
positions. The instructor, who assaulted Batiuzhenko and Martens, called
Korobeinyk a "Satanist". Another soldier threatened to knock out his teeth
because of his beliefs.
On 24 March, another soldier punched Korobeinyk twice in the face and
ordered two of his subordinates to throw him into a river. By firing
automatic weapons the two subordinates forced him to stay in water of about
5 degrees Celsius for roughly an hour, until his legs went numb. When
Korobeinyk again refused to dig firing positions, the instructor struck him
on the head three times, breaking his nose.
Days later, after another refusal, the instructor beat Korobeinyk in the
face and knocked him to the ground. The instructor then hauled Korobeinyk
back to his feet, and kept striking him, including blows to his torso and
leg.
Officials do not appear to have begun an investigation into the cruel
treatment of Korobeinyk, Jehovah's Witnesses told Forum 18.
Korobeinyk is currently in the city of Zaporizhzhia.
Many conscientious objectors held against their will in military units
Recruitment offices have seized many men - aged between 28 and 59 - who
refused to serve in the military on grounds of conscience and transferred
them to military units. Many have complained of torture, pressure and poor
conditions.
As of early June, at least 50 men from Council of Churches Baptist
communities are being held in such military units, despite expressing a
willingness to perform alternative civilian service. Seized on 6 June was
Oleksandr Redkostin from a village in the central Kirovohrad Region. The
52-year-old is being held in a military unit in the north-western Rivne
Region (A5338).
Viktor Yelensky, head of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of
Conscience (DESS), told Forum 18 on 24 June that he was not aware of the
detention of these Council of Churches Baptists on military bases.
Many Protestant and Jehovah's Witness conscientious objectors are similarly
being held in military units.
Recruitment Office officials seized a 45-year-old Orthodox deacon, Grigory
Filonenko, in Malin in the northern Zhytomyr Region on 30 April and took
him to a military base. Metropolitan Agafangel (Pashkovsky), the
Odesa-based leader of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (which chose in
2007 to remain completely separate from the Moscow Patriarchate) complained
to the Defence Ministry and the Ombudsperson
(http://internetsobor.org/inde
in early May.
"According to Church canons, members of the clergy may not take up arms or
shed blood - for they offer the bloodless Sacrifice at the Altar,"
Metropolitan Agafangel wrote. "Should they shed human blood, whether
voluntarily or involuntarily, they forfeit the right to celebrate the
Divine Liturgy and are suspended from sacred ministry."
The Ombudsperson's Office did not respond.
The 4 June response
(http://internetsobor.org/inde
to Metropolitan Agafangel's letter to the Defence Ministry came from Oleh
Nikitin, acting head of Zhytomyr Region's Recruitment Office. He stated
that alternative civilian service is not available during martial law.
On the issue of mobilisation of priests, Nikitin cited provisions for
clergy of registered religious organisations which have assigned them to
the role of military chaplains. "Thus, members of the clergy are afforded
the opportunity to perform military service - without bearing arms -
concurrently with their priestly duties," he concluded.
Metropolitan Agafangel responded to the letter
(http://internetsobor.org/inde
on 5 June. "It follows from [Nikitin's] response that in Ukraine, during
martial law, no one has the right to follow their conscience in observing
the sixth commandment of the Law: 'Thou shalt not kill'."
Officers in the military unit put Deacon Grigory under "such constant
pressure to swear the military oath and go to the front – including
beatings - that at the very first opportunity he abandoned the unit," a
fellow church member told Forum 18 on 25 June. (END)
More reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in all Ukraine
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
More reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in
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