Media: 24-year-old Ukrainian man from Russian-occupied Melitopol accused of 'criminal espionage' by FSB, faces up to 20 years in prison
Leonid Popov, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia since 2017, was charged with espionage by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the Russian independent outlet IStories reported on Nov. 29.
The case against him was opened in Aug. 2024, but he disappeared over a year before, in Apr. 2023.
According to IStories, he has endured a year of abuse while in captivity.
Detained by Russian troops a day before his planned evacuation, Popov was held in the basement of the local commandant’s office. His cellmate later contacted Popov’s parents, warning that he had been severely beaten and was in critical condition.
A few months later, Popov weighed just 40 kg despite being nearly two meters tall.
“Mum, you told me there was a hell, and I’ve been there… I was so thirsty, but they wouldn’t give me water. And I was even hungrier than I was thirsty,” Popov said in a call with his mother from detention.
After briefly being released, Popov was re-abducted by Russian forces into an undisclosed location.
Popov’s schizophrenia condition has likely worsened due to the lack of proper care during his detention.
According to some estimates, there could be over 7,000 Ukrainian civilians currently held in Russian-controlled prisons.
These people are held in dire conditions, often abused and tortured, without any means of communication.
They are also trapped in a legal limbo, as international law prohibits the capture and exchange of civilians for prisoners of war.
Olena Goncharova
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