UOC (MP) clergy help release paratrooper Taras Kolodiy held by the pro-Russian militants for two years

Taras Kolodiy, a Ukrainian paratrooper of the 80th airborne brigade was released from the militants’ captivity through negotiations facilitated by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). The “cyborg” was released without exchange to separatists.

It was reported by Bishop Klyment of Irpin of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), who participated in the military servant’s release.

"Wives and mothers of our Ukrainian prisoners reached out to us, in particular, there was quite a delegation to His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy. On hearing their request, His Beatitude did his best to initiate the process of prisoners release through negotiations and through the contacts of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Our priests are located throughout the entire Donetsk region. Therefore, we have managed to negotiate the release of at least one Ukrainian military until St Nicholas day,” Bishop Klyment told the TV channel “112 Ukraine”.

The bishop noted that paratrooper Kolodiy was not exchanged to militants.

"We do not exchange him to anyone. We just settled they would let him go,” he said.

According to him, Kolodiy is now in a state of shock and requires rehabilitation after captivity.

“He had been prisoner since 2014, therefore now he is in a state of shock, and he still needs to recover from all that happened to him,” notes the representative of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate).

Meanwhile, First Deputy Parliament Speaker Iryna Gerashchenko thanked the clergy for their participation in the liberation of “cyborg” Taras Kolodiy and published relevant photos on her Facebook page.

“A long way home! Taras Kolodiy has been released and is on his way to Kyiv. Thanks again to all clergymen and the church that are involved in the release of Taras. By the way, from the very beginning of the conflict the priests managed to release several dozens of prisoners,” Ms. Gerashchenko wrote.

Earlier, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko said that the militants released from captivity a defender of Donetsk airport, Taras Kolodiy. The President contacted the defender of Ukraine by phone, congratulated him on his release, and thanked for resilience and courage. Poroshenko also phoned the "cyborg’s" mother, Halyna Myroslavivna and thanked her for her son.

The paratrooper of the 80th airborne brigade was captured by militants along with the other “cyborgs” on January 21, 2015. The citizen of Lviv had been held captive in a pretrial detention center of Donetsk and Makiyivka prison colony for almost two years. This was reported by “Ukrayina Moloda.”