Another illegal place of military detention is located in the village of Melekino in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. This was reported to ASTRA by relatives of three Russian servicemen held there. The exact address of the detention facility is not established at the moment, but relatives suggest that it may be one of the former hotel complexes.
Irina S., a resident of Buryatia (name changed), told ASTRA that her husband, a contract soldier (full name is available to the editorial office), who served in the engineering and sapper forces since April 2024, has been held in a basement in the village of Melekino in the Donetsk region for 4 months. It is about 20 kilometers from Mariupol. According to her, there are more than 200 people there with him, including military personnel who have gone missing.
According to Irina, her husband voluntarily signed a contract with military unit 63411 and within seven months trained more than nine thousand military personnel in sapping and was awarded two medals. In October 2024, he arrived on leave, and then was seconded to the 37th brigade of another unit 01605. In December, during a training session, he was injured and, for medical reasons, was released from classes. In addition, his mother had a stroke, and Irina’s husband, as the only son, looked after her. On January 13, he was accused of arbitrarily leaving the unit, although he was in touch with the command, and a week later he was sent to Ukraine, where, according to Irina, for five months he and other military personnel were used as free labor in construction work without pay.
In June, the contractor’s mother died. He submitted a report asking to be released for the funeral, but he was never released, and after contacting the deputy political officer, the man was unexpectedly transported to the village of Melekino and placed in a basement.
“They are fed once a day, taken to the toilet once a day, there is a bottle for everything else, there is a terrible stench, they do not wash, wet wipes are in short supply…. My pets live in better conditions,” Irina told ASTRA.
According to her husband, among the detainees there are military personnel who refused combat missions, who were also placed in a basement, and some of the prisoners were declared missing.
At least two more relatives of servicemen from Buryatia, from the 37th brigade, confirmed to ASTRA that their relatives were in the basement in Melekino.
The last time Irina’s husband contacted her was on July 9, complaining of “complete lawlessness.” Irina sent complaints to the military prosecutor’s office, but there were no clear responses to her appeals. According to Irina, the criminal case against her husband has been suspended, and the command of the unit is not proceeding with the investigation.
All the military personnel whose relatives ASTRA spoke to last contacted more than a month ago. According to the relatives, they used to be given a phone call once a week to call their relatives for a few minutes in the presence of the military police, but then the calls stopped.
