CHAPLAIN TAKEN CAPTIVE BY TERRORISTS AT CHECKPOINT
At a checkpoint of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic [DPR] near the village of Olenyovka on 14 February, a chaplain of the Ukrainian army, Father Igor Petrenko, was beaten and taken captive along with his friend Vadim Perepad. This was reported by the publication Pod Pritselom, citing Kherson volunteers.
Thus, in particular the volunteers report that on Saturday Father Igor left Kherson to visit Ukrainian troops, but by mistake he missed a turn and ended up at a checkpoint of militants. His yellow Renault Kangoo was noticed by a local resident, who subsequently told Ukrainian troops that the militants were beating Fr Igor Petrenko and were also shooting over the heads and under the feet of the chaplain and his friend.
"At the time, one local resident was stopped at the checkpoint for inspecting documents. He told how he became an unwilling eyewitness to how at a checkpoint near Olenyovka there was a yellow Renault Kangoo and 'militias' were severely beating both young men. One of them was a blonde with a ponytail in a military jacket. And he also added that those who had seized them were shooting upwards and under their feet; he didn't see anything more," the activists report.
The last time the chaplain made contact was 12.20, when he told his wife that he was approaching some checkpoint.
The activists did not report about Fr Igor's disappearance, hoping to find him on their own, but that did not succeed. The chaplain does not appear on the lists of prisoners, dead, or hospitalized on the territory of DPR that they managed to get.
To date, according to the volunteers, local authorities have not actively participated in the search for the missing. (tr. by PDS, posted 18 February 2015)
Editorial disclaimer: RRN does
not intend to certify the accuracy of information
presented in articles. RRN simply intends to certify the
accuracy of the English translation of the contents of the
articles as they appeared in news media of countries of
the former USSR.
If material is quoted, please give credit to the
publication from which it came. It is not necessary to credit
this Web page. If material is transmitted electronically, please
include reference to the URL,
http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/.