In Slovyansk, Donetsk region, a memorial was opened to commemorate the four servants of the local Protestant church “Transfiguration of the Lord”, whom the Russian mercenaries had abducted, tortured and killed four years ago.
In Slovyansk, Donetsk region, a memorial was opened to commemorate the four servants of the local Protestant church “Transfiguration of the Lord”, whom the Russian mercenaries had abducted, tortured and killed four years ago.
According to Ukrinform, the memorial is open to donations by Christians.
The monument was erected on the site of the burial of church deacons Volodymyr Velychko and Viktor Bradarsky, as well as two elder sons of the elder pastor Reuben and Albert Pavenkiv, killed by Russian mercenaries.
The unveiling of the memorial took place on the evening of June 17, and many citizens gathered to pay tribute to the fallen ministers.
The persons attending, including relatives of the dead, mentioned that on June 8, 2014, after the worship, several armed fighters burst into the premises of the church “Transfiguration of the Lord” and abducted two deacons and two sons of the pastor. The terrorists charged the Christians with a crime against the "DNR", accusing them of supporting the Ukrainian army.
For over a month the family of ministers waited the captives to be released from captivity. Volodymyr Velychko left a widow and eight children, Viktor Bradarsky left three children.
But, as it was found out in the police, the prisoners were placed in a box of the seized fire department, there they were tortured, and in the morning they were taken out of the city and shot from the machine guns just in the car that was lit up. One person burned in a car, others tried to escape, hide behind the bushes, but was shot to death. The bodies were then secretly taken away and buried in a common grave. And at that time, the militants took from their relatives a considerable amount of ransom for the release of the captives.
According to police reports, the mass burial of people killed by militants was found in Slovyansk in July 2014. Among the 14 bodies (12 men and 2 women), the relatives identified four ministers of the local church, who were abducted by militants over a month ago.
After exhumation, the bodies were buried according to Protestant traditions.
The police identified militants who tortured and killed the four residents of Slovyansk in 2014. It was found that three hostages were shot dead - two Slavic people and one from Makiyivka. During the occupation, they built fortifications for militants, kept vigil on the city's checkpoints, and also were engaged in banditry and killed people. It is known that all of them, after the liberation of Slovyansk, fled to Donetsk, participated in hostilities and was considered “heroes of the DPR”. The criminals were indicted simultaneously under 5 articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The suspects are facing life imprisonment.