A 74-year-old Russian pensioner who was filmed being harassed by Ukrainian soldiers wearing Nazi-style helmets earlier this month is still being held “hostage” by Kiev’s troops, according to the man’s daughter.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs released a video on Saturday of the elderly man, identified as Aleksander Grigoryev, being questioned in Ukrainian. The person behind the camera, who cannot be seen in the footage, tells Grigoryev to confirm his name and the current date, and then asks about his well-being.
“He is alive, yes. There was a video yesterday – they filmed him on video, he is there, with them, that is also 100%,” Svetlana Petrenko, who had been desperately trying to locate her father, told RIA Novosti on Sunday.
In the video released by Kiev, Grigoryev confirms that the date is August 17, before explaining that he is suffering problems with his vision and legs. The off-camera voice then tells the pensioner to present his documents, after which Grigoryev hesitantly pulls a Ukrainian passport out of his pocket and opens it up in front of the camera. He evidently appears uncomfortable, constantly looking around and seemingly unwilling to follow the instructions.
Petrenko explained that her father lived in Makeyevka, which was part of Ukraine before the 2014 coup and the push for independence by the Donetsk People’s Republic. After Kiev sent troops to pacify the rebellious Donbass, Grigoryev moved with his daughter to Russia and obtained Russian citizenship.
“I took my father from Makeyevka, from Donbass. At that time, he had that passport. Now he is a Russian citizen. But that old, useless passport was lying around at home. You can see how they force him, how he doesn’t want to take it out... they probably searched our house, looking for something, and found that old passport,” she told RIA Novosti.
Grigoryev went missing in early August, after Kiev launched a cross-border incursion into Russian territory.
Last week, a video showing the pensioner being taunted by Ukrainian militants wearing Nazi-style helmets surfaced online. It was subsequently confirmed that it was filmed on August 11 in the village of Zaoleshenka in the Sudzhansky district of Kursk Region.
The family said they had been unable to contact Grigoryev since his disappearance and believed that the video released at the weekend was staged, pointing to his unusual behavior and attire. The exact whereabouts of the pensioner remain unknown.
The Russian Investigative Committee has initiated criminal proceedings, while a reward of 5 million rubles ($56,000) has been offered for the capture of the Ukrainian fighters who harassed Grigoryev.