Sochi resident detained in Ukraine returns to his homeland after POW exchange

Igor Siskevich, a resident of Sochi, has spent more than one month at a pre-trial detention facility in Ukraine. He has managed to return home after an exchange of prisoners of war (POWs) and detainees had been conducted, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

On August 26, in Sochi, the local office of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) held a press conference in connection with the return of Igor Siskevich.

"Relatives of Igor Siskevich live in Donetsk. He visited them during the period of combat operations, and he was shocked by the fact that children and old people are being killed there and houses are being demolished. He has expressed his desire to provide humanitarian aid to residents of Donetsk and help in evacuating a children's home," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has been told by Igor Vasiliev, the leader of the CPRF' local branch.

On June 23, Igor Siskevich left Sochi, and since July 10, he did not stay in touch. On the next day, the Ukrainian media disseminated the information about the detention of Igor Siskevich and claimed that he had illegally entered the territory of Ukraine to support rebels of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR).

"They tried to force me to confess that I was a terrorist. However, I do not consider myself to be a terrorist, and I came for peaceful purposes to help civilians... I was tortured. I came within an inch of death," Igor Siskevich has said.

"The exchange of POWs took place on August 19. As a result, 26 Russian POWs were exchanged for 26 military men from Ukraine. Igor Siskevich has been included in the number of the Russian POWs at our request," Igor Vasiliev has stated.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.