Reports of abuse: Russia is said to have kidnapped the elderly and disabled

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Elderly and disabled Ukrainians have been taken to Russian territory, stripped of their Ukrainian citizenship, forced to donate blood and left in agony of failed medical procedures. This is reported by the British “Telegraph”, whose reporter Verity Bowman spoke to some of those affected.

The elderly and disabled were included in the Russian healthcare system after Russian troops occupied their homes and villages early in the war. Those who managed to escape to Ukrainian territory reported beatings and poor conditions. They were “treated with contempt”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (70) is charged with war crimes for illegal deportation and child abuse. Little is known about the elderly, frail adults, and disabled people who were taken into the Russian system during the invasion.

For example, the paralyzed Oleg Andreyev (65) was discovered by Russian fighters in a village in eastern Ukraine, lying in a burnt-out building next to his mother, who died in a bomb attack. Andreyev says his wheelchair was stolen from him by a Russian soldier. The wheelchair bag contained all the important documents he owned, including his passport.

Nurse humiliates pensioners

He was transferred to a nursing home in Makiivka, in occupied Donetsk. The Russians kidnapped him without being able to tell his daughter that he was alive.

“There was hardly anything human about them,” he says of those responsible for him there. The senior had been lying in the destroyed stairwell of the building at -10 degrees. But his frozen toes were simply not treated. Only when the pain became unbearable did a doctor agree to remove them. But the operation went wrong and his bones were exposed. And: The surgical wounds were treated only with zeljonka, an outdated antiseptic from the Soviet era. This is actually intended for the treatment of smaller wounds. He was not given any medication for his pain.

Charity organization “Helping to Leave” helps escape

Andreyev says he was berated by staff and humiliated by a nurse who mocked him when he needed help washing. His head and face were shaved without his permission. In addition, the staff withheld 70 percent of their pension.

After months, the charity “Helping to Leave” made it possible for Andreyev to escape. He was eventually reunited with his daughter in Kiev.

Some don’t make it back

When he talks about his experiences, he bursts into tears. “It’s frightening,” he said. “My late grandma used to toast every time we had a party, ‘May there be no war.’ I always wondered why grandma said that every time for so many years. Now I know.”

The Telegraph quotes Elly Isaeva, who works for Helping to Leave. She says she recently worked to save a woman who was forced to donate blood for wounded Russian soldiers. It is not uncommon for patients to be so neglected that they cannot return to Ukraine.

Source: Blick