Zelenogorsk Pravda
The Voice of the People
By Svetlana Golikova, National Defense Correspondent
ZELENOGORSK – Forces from the 3rd Battalion, Chernarus 3rd Separate Tank Brigade, rescued two civilians who had been detained by separatists during a military operation in the village of Yashkul’ this week, military officials have confirmed.
The harrowing rescue came too late for two others, however, as the mission unfolded amidst heavy gunfire that claimed the lives of a woman and her sister, who had been held captive alongside them.
The ordeal began Wednesday night when Tatyana Boyarchuka, her husband Igor Boyarchuk, her sister, and her girlfriend Irina Vostova were traveling north in their 2019 Lada to visit in-laws in Stary Saltov. According to Tatyana, the family’s journey was violently interrupted by a separatist mobile patrol.
“We encountered very rough and very menacing armed men who were threatening to shoot Igor,” Tatyana recounted from a military field hospital, where she and her husband are recovering. “They told us they were going to hold us for evacuation to the north.”
The four armed men, traveling in a heavily armed UAZ technical, ordered the family aboard their vehicle. Three of the separatists dismounted to make room. Less than half a kilometer away, the family watched as those three men torched their car.
Blindfolded and bound upon arrival in Yashkul’, the captives were held by three guards. It was then that the interrogation of Tatiana's sister began.
“The armed men kept asking her who sent her and who her family was, but she kept repeating that we were traveling through to Stary Saltov, and no one had sent us,” Tatyana said, describing the brutal beating of her sister. “The beating lasted for three hours… I knew at that point that she was dead.”
As dawn approached, the sound of heavy gunfire erupted in the direction of the village. The CDF operation had begun.
“We got down as best we could to avoid being hit by gunfire,” Tatyana said. “Irina wasn’t so lucky. She was hit by gunfire and she died instantly.”
Colonel Igor Maltsev, commander of the 3rd Separate Tank Brigade, confirmed that the rescue of the four individuals was a specific objective of the Yashkul’ operation, but he acknowledged gaps in his unit’s situational awareness prior to the abduction.
“I reference reports from that day going back four days; no information about a civilian family traveling aboard a Lada heading north,” Col. Maltsev told this reporter. “We maintain checkpoints and routine motorized patrols throughout the area. If that family had gone through that area, we must have missed it.”
He added that standard procedure would have been to turn the family back. “Had our patrols or checkpoints encountered this family, we would have strongly advised against them traveling any further north, and we would have ordered them to drive out of the operation area.”
The military’s account has drawn sharp criticism from civilian oversight groups. Vyacheslav Komorov, a spokesman for the peace advocacy group Trees for Peace, dismissed Col. Maltsev’s statements as implausible.
“This is exemplary of how sloppily the military operates in civilian areas,” Komorov said. “Colonel Igor Maltsev didn’t know about the detention and abduction of the family? Yeah right. Members of our group can’t even get within five kilometers of their forward zone before we are ordered to turn back. There is every reason to doubt Colonel Igor Maltsev.”
The CDF has not yet commented on the discrepancy between their claimed patrol density and the family’s unimpeded journey into contested territory. An investigation into the incident is expected to be opened, though no timeline has been provided.
The surviving members of the group, Tatyana and Igor Boyarchuk, are receiving medical and psychological care. The bodies of the two deceased women have been recovered and are being repatriated to their families.
No comments:
Post a Comment