Sybiga called on the OSCE to intervene over the imprisonment of three Ukrainians in Russia

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga called on the OSCE Secretary General and the Swiss chairmanship to help secure the release of OSCE staff illegally imprisoned by Russia — Vadym Holda, Dmytro Shabanov, and Maksym Petrov.

According to the foreign minister, the Ukrainian side has learned that Vadym Holda has already been transferred to a medical-correctional facility in Russia’s Tambov region. This creates an even greater threat to his health — both physical and mental. Such a transfer is also a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions.

"Such actions may also be qualified as war crimes and would become another episode in a series of serious violations suffered by the three OSCE staff members.

I urge the OSCE Secretary General and the Swiss chairmanship to take immediate steps to determine the whereabouts of the staff members and to ensure their immediate and unconditional release. Ukraine will also raise this issue at the OSCE Permanent Council meeting," Sybiga said.

Recall that the Russians illegally detained three SMM OSCE staff members in the occupied territories in 2022. In July 2024, a Donetsk court sentenced Vadym Holda to 14 years in prison on charges of espionage.

In 2025, the other two staff members — Maksym Petrov and Dmytro Shabanov — were transferred to Russian colonies in Omsk and Chelyabinsk. Human rights defenders emphasize that the forced transfer of unlawfully convicted persons from occupied territories to Russia violates international humanitarian law. In particular, Articles 49 and 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibit the deportation of protected persons and require their detention to take place in the occupied territory.