Stories of 5 seriously ill Ukrainian women in Russian captivity

But these figures don’t reflect the true number of those still in captivity, far from home, family, and any hope. I’ve gathered just 5 stories of seriously ill women currently held in Russian captivity.​

How can you help?

Share their stories on social media or write a postcard to one of them with words of support. Our website has all the information on how to write letters and rules to pass censorship. Then send the postcards to our offices in Berlin and Zurich, and we’ll forward them to Russian prisons. Such a postcard is support for the prisoners and a signal to Russian authorities and prison administration: Ukrainian women unjustly sentenced to years in Russian prisons are not forgotten!

Halyna Dovhopola

Halyna Dovhopola is a 71-year-old pensioner originally from Bakhchysarai in Crimea. For seven years she has been held in Russian captivity. According to the version of the occupation investigators, she allegedly cooperated with the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine and collected “information about a separate aviation regiment of the Black Sea Fleet.” She has multiple chronic illnesses worsened in captivity. Because of severe back pain, she can barely walk even with a cane.

Iryna Danilovich

Iryna Danilovich is a Crimean human rights activist and citizen journalist from Feodosia, abducted in 2022 on fabricated charges. She is being held in terrible conditions in a penal colony in Russia’s Stavropol region. She suffered a stroke in prison, lost hearing in one ear due to untreated otitis, and endures constant headaches and pain from loud sounds. Danilovich faces convoy abuse, water tasting of dead animals (due to corpses in the water supply), hours standing in rain and cold, and deprivation of food and medical care. She is held in a barrack for 120 people without proper heating: ice forms in winter, and it’s unbearably hot in summer.

Lera Dzhemilova

The 29-year-old Crimean Tatar woman was abducted from her home and isolated for 10 months without contact with the outside world or basic necessities. She was later sentenced to 15 years in prison. She suffered her first epileptic seizure in prison; her condition deteriorated without medical assistance.

Viktoria Strilets

Resident of temporarily occupied Sevastopol, sentenced in August 2025 to 12 years’ imprisonment. Viktoria and her 24-year-old daughter Alexandra were convicted of high treason. During the trial, the convicted women had no legal representation and did not speak at the hearing. She has long suffered from multiple sclerosis and periodically requires external supervision and medical care, but is completely denied any treatment in prison.

Tatyana Malyar (Begey)

A resident of Yevpatoria, abducted in early 2025. She was arrested along with her two children and brother, accused of high treason. She has severe chronic kidney disease requiring expensive medication and examinations to prevent kidney failure. The risks in captivity grow daily.