The abandoned seaside resort where Russian refuseniks are held in damp | World | News
Melekino is a Ukrainian resort located on the Sea of Azov. It has been occupied by Russia since 2022. The small seaside resort also became a place where Moscow sent to detain Russian rejecters and deserted soldiers. According to the Russian independent broadcaster ASTRA, the soldiers are being held under torture conditions in an overcrowded, dirty and poorly ventilated facility. Victims also reported cases of brutal physical and psychological abuse.
One of those detained is Buryatian soldier Yegor Kharin, whose name has been changed. Yegor was placed in the basement of an abandoned construction site in Melekino in June 2025. He said soldiers were held there for up to a year and had limited access to sanitation and medical care. He described the facility as cramped, damp and poorly ventilated.
He told ASTRA: “Darkness, gloom, stuffiness, dampness, cardboard boxes, pallets and bottles. I’ve talked to people who say they’ve been there for eight months, even a year. Refuses, escapees and non-deserters; they all end up there.”
“Once upon a time, there were 98 people in the basement at the same time. Of course, we were sleeping in turns. One of us with the call sign ‘Kuzya’ could not stand it and was put into the ambulance. The others held out.”
Military officer Stanislav Kozlovsky, whose name has also been changed, said washing day was once a month and “it always smelled awful outside.”
“You can’t do anything because of the heat and lack of air. They feed them like cattle or even worse. They don’t care about human rights at all, they have their own laws and regulations here. There are people with mental illnesses, schizophrenia and other disorders. They need to be treated in a psychiatric hospital, but they are here.”
Detainees are often forced to work on repairs to the facility and are promised better privileges if they comply.
The fact that the detainees are so close to the holidaymakers in the small holiday town also increases the dehumanization. Before Putin’s invasion, Melekino was a budget-friendly sea resort for Ukrainians. Every summer the village would be filled with visitors who came to the Soviet-era recreation centers and private cottages to enjoy the seaside. Today, tourists still flock to the beach, albeit in small numbers. However, the majority of those staying in the occupied territories are Russian tourists or locals.
Ekaterina, a local resident, told ASTRA: “We were living a good life with our family and friends. Then the Russian invaders came and destroyed everything. In Mariupol, where everyone was happy before the war, my relatives died when the Russians bombed the city.
“Now these monsters are here, they think they rule the world. They appointed drug addicts to high-ranking positions and I don’t even want to greet them because normal people don’t want to work for this new government that only knows how to fight and kill. The number of vacationers is very few and when they come they are so scary you don’t want to go out.”
Another resident told ASTRA that Melekino hostels were allegedly “taken over by the military”. He said that the village is now covered with grass, there are potholes everywhere and many buildings are abandoned.
“It’s sad for young people, there are no clubs. There used to be a cultural center and sports sections, but now there is nowhere to go.”
