Although a solo father with a small son, Yury Hordiychuk saw no choice but to join Ukraine’s Armed Forces in 2015. According to his sister, Yulia, he said, if I don’t defend our country, who will? He was seized by militants from the Russian proxy ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ [DPR] in 2019, and ‘sentenced’ to 17 years, with the militants claiming that serving in the defence of his country was ‘terrorism’ and ‘calling for the overthrow of DPR’.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
OP-ED
Halya Coynash: Russian-backed separatists ‘sentence’ Ukrainian soldier to 17 years
A Ukrainian serviceman stands near the front line with Russia-backed separatists in the small town of Pisky, near Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, on April 21, 2021.
