Serhii Spartesnyi
Serhii Spartesnyi
Date of Disappearance: July 18, 2023
Place of Disappearance: Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Region
Serhii Spartesnyi, an employee of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, remained in his home in Enerhodar after the city fell under Russian occupation. In July 2023, Russian forces stormed his apartment, conducting an illegal search before taking him to the local police station. According to a fellow detainee, the occupiers accused Serhii of distributing pro-Ukrainian leaflets around Enerhodar, spying on the Russian Federal Security Service and a collaborator at the nuclear plant, and training terrorists at the behest of the SSU (Security Service of Ukraine).
Serhii’s wife, Natalia, firmly denies these accusations. She believes her husband was kept in grim conditions, likely in a basement. Through her sources, she learned that the clothes of the captives were covered in mold, they were deprived of fresh air, and they endured torture.
“I know that the Russians put bags over everyone’s heads, bound tape around their necks, and applied electric shocks. I fear they did the same to my husband,”
Despite his existing health problems, Serhii was denied medical care during his detention at the police station. In July 2024, he was formally accused of “espionage” and transferred to a pre-trial detention center in Donetsk, with further interrogations taking place in Melitopol. Natalia later learned that her husband’s physical condition had deteriorated significantly.
This publication was compiled with the support of the International RenaissanceFoundation. It’s content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the International Renaissance Foundation.
