His attacks from his home in the Luhansk region in April 2022 – weeks later A full-scale invasion of Moscow – It was part of a coordinated operation by the pro-Russian troops that detained him and two other Ukrainian OSCE workers. Maksym Petrov, an interpreter, also was seized in the Luhansk region, while Vadym Golda, another security assistant, was left in neighboring Donetsk.
More than three years later, the three Ukrainian civilians who had worked with the international group’s ceasefire monitoring efforts in the Eastern regions remain behind bars. Recent Large Prisoner Exchange With Russia.
Prison situation In allegations of torture.
It will be rolling out rapidly in 2022
“He was taken from his home after the curfew came into effect,” said Margarita Shabanova, Shabanov’s wife, who lives in Kiev. “I made my last call with him 20 minutes before it happened.”
That fateful night turned Shabanova’s life upside down.
“Every morning I wake up hoping that today is different. I’ll hear my Dima is free today,” she said. “The days continue in pain, nothing has changed. The waiting, unfamiliar, endless hope slowly turns into a quiet despair.”
Fighting back tears, Shabanova explains her life without her husband.
Vienna-based OSCE monitors ceasefires, observes elections, and promotes democracy and arms control, and Shabanov “really liked his job” at the international organization, said his wife, especially working with the foreign staff.
However, on March 31, 2022, Russia blocked an extension of the OSCE mission, declaring the separatist leaders illegal the following month.
It remains unclear whether the three detained OSCE staff tried to escape from eastern Ukraine.
Locally recruited Ukrainians such as Shabanov, Petrov and Golda worked in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions to help close the OSCE mission. They cleared offices, safeguarded OSCE assets, including armored vehicles, drones and cameras, and oversaw evacuations of their international colleagues.The operation was completed by October 2022.
Conviction and sentence
OSCE said the three men were arrested despite carrying documents confirming their immunity.
Shabanov and Petrov were convicted of treason by a Russian-controlled court in Luhansk in September 2022 and sentenced to 13 years in prison. Gorda, 57, was convicted in July 2024 of spying in a Moscow-controlled Donetsk court and was sentenced to 14 years.
Petrov is at risk of being moved to Russia, she said.
Penal colonies in Siberia are known for harmsh conditions, where “prisoners often lose all contact with the outside world, effectively ‘disappearing’ within Russia’s penal system,” the legal group said in March.
Assault allegations, psychological pressure
Butkevych said that 38-year-old Shabanov has problems with his back and feet. “He had to lie down for at least a few hours every day due to the pain,” he added.
The allegations of torture could not be independently verified by the Associated Press.
A negotiation tip with Russia?
“Securing their release is a top priority for the association of OSCE Chairs in Finland,” she said.
Vitrenko suggested that other states affecting Russia should put more pressure on them to ensure their release. He did not identify those countries.
Shabanova said she regularly asks “powerful people” to take action.
