Ukrainian Human Rights Activist Maksym Butkevych Released from Russian Captivity

Ukrainian human rights defender, journalist, and military serviceman Maksym Butkevych has been released from Russian captivity, according to the Human Rights Centre ZMINA. The news was confirmed by his father, Oleksandr Butkevych, who was informed by Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters that his son had been exchanged and returned to Ukraine.

Butkevych, a co-founder of ZMINA, was captured in July 2022 while serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces following the full-scale Russian invasion. In March 2023, a court in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic sentenced him to 13 years in prison, accusing him of firing a grenade launcher at a residential building in Sievierodonetsk. However, multiple sources reported that Butkevych was in Kyiv at the time of the alleged incident and only arrived at the front lines ten days later.

During his trial in the Russian Supreme Court, Butkevych stated that he had admitted guilt under threat of torture. Despite this, the court upheld the initial ruling, and the appeals process did not alter the outcome. His lawyer’s requests to include phone records and testimony from a French citizen, both proving his presence in Kyiv during the incident, were rejected by the court.

Human rights organization Amnesty International condemned the charges as fabricated, viewing them as retaliation for Butkevych’s activism. Russian authorities accused him of crimes including “violent treatment of civilians” and “attempted murder.”

Earlier, Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters confirmed that 95 Ukrainian prisoners were exchanged for 95 Russian soldiers. The exchange was facilitated with the assistance of the United Arab Emirates.