Three years have passed since the Ukrainian military liberated Bucha, a city located in a Kyiv suburb that was the scene of some of the worst known atrocities committed by Russian forces in the early days of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Yet at least 33 civilians from the city remain imprisoned in Russia.
Among them is Vladyslav Popovych, who was wounded and taken by Russian troops during the 2022 Bucha massacre, which took the lives of hundreds of Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war. His mother, Tetyana Popovych, continues to fight for his release from Russian prison and return to Ukraine.
On March 2, 2022, Vladyslav was shot in the leg and disappeared. "[Russian troops] kept shooting [at them] even though they were on their knees with their hands up," Tetyana recalls while pointing at what was once a Russian checkpoint during the occupation.
Tetyana initially believed her son had escaped and managed to find shelter in a yard near the family home. However, she soon realized that he had vanished.
Months later, she discovered he was being held in a Russian prison in Kursk after filing an inquiry with Russia's Defense Ministry.
The response she received confirmed that Vladyslav had been detained for allegedly resisting Russia's so-called special military operation.
Besides a letter she received from her son in 2023, Tetyana has had virtually no contact with her son.
'Kept Incommunicado'
Human rights organizations and legal experts argue that Russia's actions constitute war crimes.
According to Anastasia Panteleyeva from the Media Initiative for Human Rights, Moscow is violating international law by detaining Popovych.
"Civilians cannot be kidnapped and taken from their country. All the civilians captured in [Ukraine's] northern regions are kept incommunicado."
A recent report by the United Nations Human Rights Council has found that Russia's enforced disappearances of Ukrainian civilians have been "widespread and systematic."
Despite the grim reality, the Ukrainian government continues diplomatic efforts to secure the release of its civilians.
Three years after the brutal Bucha occupation, most damaged buildings and infrastructure have been restored.
But for mothers like Tetyana, the struggle to get their loved ones released from Russian prison continues.
