Serhiy Potyng

Date of abduction: June 06, 2023
Place of abduction: Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia region

Serhiy Potyng is a Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) engineer. He and his wife, Iryna, stayed in their hometown after the start of the full-scale invasion. Despite the daily danger, they both continued to work at ZNPP. Serhii also volunteered to help families with small children survive the occupation.

The Russians closely followed him and then detained and tortured his wife to find out where her husband was hiding.

Eventually, Serhiy Potyng was caught on June 23, 2023, and was first detained at the police station in Enerhodar. Later, the family learned from his cellmate that Serhiy had been severely beaten and needed surgery for a purulent wound on his body.

“Serhiy read a lot, did crossword puzzles, talked about me,” — his wife Iryna recounts. 

The man was repeatedly transported: first to Melitopol, then to Mariupol. Since November 19, 2024, he has been in a pre-trial detention center in Rostov-on-Don. The family can write letters but go slowly and only after strict censorship.

On March 26, 2025, a Russian court sentenced Serhiy to 19 years in prison, accusing him of illegal possession of weapons and an attempt to blow up the car of a Russian security officer — typical charges in fabricated cases against Ukrainian civilians under occupation. While the appeal is pending, Serhiy remains in the Rostov detention center.

“Even in such difficult conditions, my husband will fight for the truth and his pro-Ukrainian position” — says Iryna.

This publication was compiled with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. It’s content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the International Renaissance Foundation.