Ukrainians often face criticism for choosing to travel to Crimea after its annexation by Russia in 2014. But in the case of Mykhailo Doroshenko, it wasn’t much of a choice.
Doroshenko, 19, works as a guard on a Black Sea beach in Lazurne, a resort in Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine. After his shift on Aug. 1, Doroshenko took a nap on an inflatable trampoline left on the beach. When he woke up, he found himself in the open sea.
Three days later, on Aug. 5, the trampoline washed ashore in Crimea, where Russian border guards discovered it, with Doroshenko alive but extremely dehydrated and suffering from heatstroke.
Doroshenko was taken to a hospital in Chernomorske village. The Russian Border Service said on Aug. 8 it is negotiating his return to the mainland Ukraine.
The man washed ashore in the Karkinitsky Bay of Crimea, 48 kilometers away from Lazurne.
The case wasn’t reported by the Russian Border Service until Aug. 8.
