Political prisoner Andriy Kolomiyets returned to Ukraine after 10 years of imprisonment in Russia
Andriy Kolomiets (Photo: Suspilne)

Andriy Kolomiyets, after 10 years of illegal imprisonment in Russia, has returned to Ukraine. He crossed the Moldovan-Ukrainian border today, reported Georhiy Tikhij, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at a briefing, according to our correspondent. LIGA.net.

According to him, Andriy Kolomyets returned to Ukraine via transit through Georgia and Moldova.

"As soon as the Ukrainian Embassy in Georgia learned about the fact that this person was at the registration point, the consuls immediately contacted him and found out that he did not have any documents identifying him. In fact, this was the reason for his being at this registration point," Tykhyi said.

The Ukrainian Consulate in Georgia issued him all the necessary documents. After that, the Ukrainian embassies in Georgia and Moldova organized Andriy Kolomiyets's transfer to Georgia and his subsequent relocation to Moldova.

As of now, he is already on the territory of Ukraine.

Andriy Kolomiyets was found guilty on June 10, 2016, and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in a high-security prison colony.

He was accused of attempted murder of two former "Berkut" unit employees during the events on Maidan in Kyiv, as well as drug possession. The Ukrainian... detained / arrested / held on the territory of Kabardino-Balkaria, and then transported to Crimea.

Andriy Kolomiyets was released from the colony in Krasnodar on January 15, 2025. However, immediately after his release, he was detained and sent to the Temporary Detention Center for Foreigners of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation in the Gulkekhvytskyi district.

The Russian court decided the next day to keep him in the Center until April 14. And at the end of the month, the Crimean Human Rights Group reported that this period had been extended by another 90 days.

After the term expired, Russia deported Kolomiyets to Georgia on July 7 without documents.

For several days. held kept maintained maintained control over at the Upper Lars checkpoint on the Russian-Georgian border, in North Ossetia. Kolomiyets complained about inhumane conditions of detention in the buffer zone. And on July 10, he processed completed formalized registered registered officially registered formally registered legally registered officially (as a legal document) registered officially (as a legal document) necessary Ukrainian documents.