Andrii Kolomiiets is a Ukrainian citizen and participant of the Revolution of Dignity. In 2015, he became a victim of politically motivated persecution by the Russian administration. He was detained in Kabardino-Balkaria (Russian Federation) under fabricated charges of drug possession. According to his own statements and those of his lawyer, Andrii was subjected to torture multiple times.

Following his detention, he was illegally transferred to temporarily occupied Crimea, where the FSB brought forth new, even more absurd charges — attempted murder of two former members of the Berkut special unit during the Euromaidan events in Kyiv. The only evidence presented were two black-and-white photographs allegedly showing burned uniforms. No actual proof of his involvement was ever provided.

In June 2016, an occupation court in Simferopol sentenced Andrii to 10 years in a maximum-security penal colony. In April 2017, he filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights. His case gained international attention, and the human rights organization Memorial recognized Kolomiiets as a political prisoner.

On 15 January 2025, Andrii was released from the penal colony in Russia’s Krasnodar region. However, instead of being freed, he was immediately placed in the Temporary Detention Centre for Foreign Nationals of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Russians attempted to delay his return. It was not until 7 July that he was transferred to the Georgian border, where he remained under Russian control for several more days.

Only after that was Andrii able to return to the territory of Ukraine.

As of the evening of 11 July, according to the Crimean Human Rights Group, Andrii Kolomiiets is free and on his way to reunite with his family, whom he has not seen in over a decade.

Andrii’s story is a stark example of how the Russian Federation systematically persecutes Ukrainian citizens for supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and resisting the aggressor state.

Ukraine continues its consistent efforts to secure the release of its citizens who are unlawfully held in the territory of the Russian Federation and temporarily occupied Crimea.