How a Tourist Town Near Mariupol Became a Torture Site for Russian Deserters

In Ukrainian coastal village of Melekino, occupied by Russia, located on the Azov Sea, Russian soldiers who refuse to fight or desert their units are being detained in dire conditions, according to sources from Astra on December 9.

Melekino, which has been under Russian control since 2022, continues to receive tourists, but the number of visitors has dwindled due to high prices and poor conditions. Meanwhile, the Russian military has turned this small resort area into a detention site for soldiers who refuse orders or desert, keeping them in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions.

Yegor Kharin, a soldier from Buryatia, was sent to Melekino in June 2025 and placed in a basement of an abandoned construction site. He describes the facility as cramped, humid, and poorly ventilated, with soldiers confined there for months, some for up to a year. These soldiers are kept in harsh conditions, with limited access to sanitation and medical care. Kharin and others reported that the detention is often brutal, with cases of physical abuse and psychological distress.

Melekino’s coastal location, which is close to a tourist area, means soldiers are detained just meters away from vacationers. Despite these conditions, Russian authorities continue to bring soldiers to the site, where they are often forced to work on repairs for the facility, with the promise of better privileges if they comply.

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The abandoned resort also serves as a grim reminder of the town’s past, with many facilities now repurposed to house soldiers and detainees. According to locals, the area is in a state of decay, with many properties left to deteriorate since Russian occupation in 2022, according to Astra.

One local, Ekaterina, recalls the murder of local writer and journalist Yevgeny Bal. The 78-year-old man died after being tortured by Russian soldiers, who beat him over a supposed photo he had taken with Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel.

Kharin, who had originally been sent to Melekino under the false impression that it was a transit point, now faces uncertain future, his pleas for help to Russian military authorities unanswered.

Previously, it was reported that the widespread deprivation of liberty affecting both civilians and military personnel remains a harsh reality amid Russia’s ongoing armed aggression against Ukraine, according to a new report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which describes the treatment of civilians deprived of liberty since 2022.

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