The Christmas and New Year period is often a time for friends and family to be reunited – but for nearly 100 political prisoners from Ukraine who are still held captive in Russia and Russian-occupied Ukrainian Crimea and Donbas, that won’t be possible this year.
Ukrainian political prisoners, including soldiers, civilians and sailors, who have been illegitimately held at prisons in Russia and its occupied territories, still hope to be released, but have no reliable means of communication with the outside world except through the sending and receiving of letters.
At least 94 citizens of Ukraine have been taken as political prisoners and are held in jails of Russia and in Russian-occupied Crimea and Donbas, despite widespread condemnation. Many of them are being held in inhumane conditions and are suffering from life-threatening illnesses.
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To support Ukrainian prisoners in Russia and its occupied territories, the EuroMaidan Press news site, together with the Association of Relatives of Political Prisoners of The Kremlin and the Center for Civil Liberties, are urging people to send letters to the almost 100 illegally-imprisoned Ukrainians in Russia.
The annual campaign, called “Winter Marathon,” started on Dec. 24, and will last till mid-February: it asks that people write and send letters to Ukrainian hostages in Russia its occupied territories.
According to Olexandra Matviychuk, the head of the board at the Center for Civil Liberties, the organization has already received over a hundred letters to be passed for those Ukrainian hostages, including both soldiers and civilians, imprisoned in Crimea and areas of occupied Donbas on charges that are widely regarded as without any legal basis and politically-motivated.
“We give addresses of Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia, so that people can send letters directly to them, however, it is much more complicated with those who are in Crimea, so we decided to collect letters for civilians and soldiers who are in Crimea now, and then transfer them through layers and relatives of those hostages,” Matviychuk told Kyiv Post.
On Dec. 24, the Center for Civil Liberties organization shared a Facebook post saying that “At least 70 Ukrainian civilians and 24 Ukrainian navy sailors will spend the winter holidays in cold, Russian prisons this year.”
Mailing addresses of Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia can be found here have been published here.
Those who want to write to Ukrainian navy sailors who were seized after Russia attacked Ukrainian naval vessels near the Kerch Strait on Nov. 25, can find their mailing addresses here.
The organization also shared a list of criteria and suggestions on writing letters to Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia.
All letters should be written in Russian language, with neutral political content, indicating a full name, patronymic, last name and year of birth of the addressee. Moreover, people who expect a reply can add a blank piece of paper, a Russian postal stamp and an envelope to their letter, in addition to the letter.
Matviychuk said that letters coming to political prisoners in Russia from all over the world also serves another vital purpose: it can guarantee their safety.
“When prison workers see how many letters our hostages receive, they realize our political prisoners are in the spotlight,” Matviychuk said.
Matviychuk also urged people to write letters to Ukrainian political prisoners, who are still being held in Russia.
“Write letters! They remind prisoners that they are not forgotten, that we fight for their release, and wait them to come back home,” Matviychuk wrote on her Facebook post.
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