Ukrainian pilot Oleksandr Morozov is being held at Lefortovo Detention Center. His case has been classified
Oleksandr Morozov dreamed of flying since childhood. However, he failed to get a pilot’s degree after school and became a radio engineer. He managed to fulfill his cherished dream at the age of 50.
“He found out about the flight school at the flying club and went there to study,” Inna Morozova, Oleksandr’s wife, recalls. She continued, saying her husband flew very well and skillfully practiced maneuvers and landings in extreme conditions. All this brought him immense pleasure. Over time, he purchased a light aircraft, established a private airfield called Rakitne in the Kharkiv region, and became an instructor.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014 changed Oleksandr’s life. Along with like-minded people, he began patrolling the border of Kharkiv region in light aircraft. In 2016, he joined the public organization Civil Air Patrol and put his plane into service for air ambulance operations. Thus, volunteer pilots acted as emergency medical responders.
“They would take off when ambulances needed 3 to 4 hours to reach a patient, but the person needed to be rescued immediately. That’s how the planes quickly delivered the patient to the hospital,” Inna Morozova explains.
Oleksandr Morozov, pilot of a small aircraft. Photo: family archive
Everything stopped on February 24, 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine. In March of that year, enemy forces shelled the Rakitne airfield, damaging the runway, hangars, and aircraft. As a result of the attack, it ceased operations.
At the end of 2022, Oleksandr Morozov was invited to work in Kyiv as a small aircraft pilot.
“I don’t know what exactly he was supposed to do. My husband said it was patrolling, just like before. At the end of winter 2023, he went to the capital,” Inna Morozova recalls.
The last time Inna talked to her husband before his disappearance was April 4. The next day, she learned from the news that Oleksandr had been captured by the Russian forces in the Bryansk region.
Emergency landing in the Bryansk region
On that day, Russian media reported that a Ukrainian light aircraft, Aeroprakt A-22, crashed under unspecified circumstances near the village of Butovsk in the Klintsy district, 30 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The pilot, Oleksandr Morozov, was detained by the Russian National Guard. The Russians also published a photo of the detention and a video of the initial interrogation.
The detention of Oleksandr Morozov on April 5, 2023. Photo: Russian media
In the recording, he explains he was following another plane and didn’t realize he had flown into the territory of the Russian Federation. Due to a propeller malfunction, he had to make an emergency landing. He also claims he had a bulletproof vest and an assault rifle for protection.
On April 7, 2023, the Soviet Court of Bryansk arrested Morozov. He was charged with illegally crossing the border of the Russian Federation (part 1 of Art. 322 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and sent to a pre-trial detention center until May 4. Later, his detention was extended until July 4. On July 7, Russian media reported that Oleksandr Morozov’s case had been transferred to Moscow, and he had been moved to the Lefortovo Detention Center. It was also revealed that in addition to illegal border crossing, he was accused of unlawful transportation of firearms and ammunition across the state border (part 1 of Art. 226 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and sabotage (part 1 of Art. 281 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Meanwhile, his wife, Inna Morozova, claims she has received no official communication regarding her husband’s detention. She learns about Oleksandr’s whereabouts from the Internet.
“When he was transferred to Lefortovo, I managed to get more detailed information and find a lawyer for him,” Inna adds.
However, the lawyer was only allowed to see Oleksandr Morozov in December 2023.
“Before these events, my husband was healthy, handsome, and looked much younger than his age. Instead, the lawyer saw him as thin, weakened, and exhausted,” the woman recounts.
Classified case
In the pre-trial detention center, Oleksandr Morozov’s health has deteriorated. He complains of kidney pain and poor eyesight. Inna has learned that in the Bryansk region detention center, he was beaten and tortured.
“Back in April 2023, when the news showed the court video, I noticed that his face was bruised and he had dark circles around his eyes,” the pilot’s wife recounts. She mentions that her husband wore glasses, but they broke them on his face. “He was being forced to sign some documents, but they didn’t give him his glasses, so he couldn’t read them.”
Screenshot from the court hearing video in Bryansk involving Oleksandr Morozov, April 7, 2023
As his wife recollects, her husband was also poorly fed. He was not given hygiene products or additional clothing.
“No soap, toothpaste, or toilet paper. He wasn’t even given any clothes. So in the summer, he was still wearing the same warm clothes he had on when he was detained.”
The situation slightly improved once the lawyer was allowed access. The volunteers provided glasses for Oleksandr Morozov and sent him food and hygiene products. As Inna explains, he is taken for a walk daily and has a shower once a week.
“However, his skin is badly damaged because the prison robe is made from a material that feels like fiberglass; it is completely unsuitable for wearing.”
Currently, the pre-trial investigation regarding Morozov is underway in Moscow. His case has been combined with that of another Ukrainian citizen and classified. No one knows what is happening in the process.
The wife has filed requests to various authorities for her husband’s return. She knows that representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross have not visited Oleksandr. Inna received an electronic scanned copy of a letter he wrote to her through the Russian Red Cross only a few months later.
“He has a strong spirit. I wrote him a letter asking him to promise to endure everything and come back. And he promised. He told me not to worry about him and that he would return. And I always believe my husband,” Inna Morozova adds.
