The Association spoke with Illia, the son of Volodymyr Dudka, one of the defendants in the “case of Ukrainian diversants”. He said that despite a large number of illnesses, his father is not provided with professional medical aid.

Volodymyr is 58 years old, 7 of which he spent in SIZO and colonies of the Russian Federation. The man suffers from stomach ulcer, hypertension, skin rash, prostate adenoma and urolithiasis. With such a “bouquet” of chronic and severe diseases, he should be under constant medical supervision. Now, according to Illia, Volodymyr receives only dental care in the colony.

Since 2021, after being transferred, Dudka developed an itchy rash with pustules, which has not gone away yet.

‍“We sent Volodymyr various medicines, ointments, but nothing helped. Doctors prescribed him symptomatic treatment, but did not examine him, so the disease keeps coming back. They began to think that the rash had been caused by nerves. But in the conditions Volodia is held, there is no way to cure nerves. Only if to return him to Ukraine,” adds Maryna Trofimenko, a close friend of Volodymyr.

Despite all that, the prisoner is morally supported by letters and books sent by activists.“Representatives of the colony say that he receives more letters than anyone else. But they do not pass them right away. For example, Volodia received congratulations on his birthday, which is on September 30, after the New Year. Also, not all books from activists reach his hands. They did not allow the poems of a Chinese poet translated into Ukrainian – the censors could not understand what it was about,” Maryna told the Association.

In one of his letters, Dudka writes: “Books don't let you get bored. You read and get distracted. This is very good. You get lost in your own head at night, and stay with your own thoughts and dreams. And in such a way one gets used to everything. I try to pay less attention to nonsense, empty conversations. You can't prove anything to anyone here, and you have to save your nerves.”

As a reminder, the life of former Ukrainian Navy sailor Volodymyr Dudka changed dramatically on November 9, 2016. He was detained by FSB officers on his way to a clinic. Volodymyr was accused of preparing sabotage, allegedly on the order of Ukrainian intelligence. Dudka pleaded not guilty and in April 2019 was sentenced to 14 years in prison and fined 350 thousand rubles. He is currently being held in IK No. 11 in Stavropol.