Iryna Levchenko

Affiliated media: Noviy Den, Mltpl.City, Fakty i Kommentarii , Former journalist

Incident date: May 6, 2023

Attack type:

• Abduction, taking captive / hostage, illegal deprivation of liberty

Who attacked: от военных

Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

Location: Ukraine, Zaporizhia Oblast, Melitopol

Additional information:

In early May, Russian forces detained Levchenko and her husband, Oleksandr, in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol, in southeast Ukraine.Levchenko’s relatives lost contact with her on May 5 and asked not to publicize her detention until May 30, as they hoped she and her husband would be released. Levchenko worked for years as a reporter for several Ukrainian news outlets, and retired from journalism after Russian forces occupied Melitopol in late February 2022. According to NUJU’s branch in the region of Zaporizhzhia, which includes Melitopol, the pair were held in “inhumane conditions, almost without food, in a cold basement, on a concrete floor” and were “subjected to physical and psychological torture.” Iryna was later transferred to an undisclosed location, according to that report.