FSB charges Ukrainian schizophrenic with espionage

A Ukrainian man suffering from schizophrenia from the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol who was abducted by the Russian military and abused in captivity for over a year has been charged with espionage, independent media outlet IStories reported on Friday.

IStories said the FSB opened a case against Leonid Popov, 24, from the occupied city of Melitopol in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, on 15 August. The case files shown to IStories provided few details about the basis for the espionage charge against him. He is currently being held in pretrial detention in occupied Donetsk.

A day before Popov was due to be evacuated from Melitopol in April 2023, he was detained by Russian troops and was held in the basement of the local commandant’s office, according to IStories. His former cellmate contacted Popov’s parents in June 2023 to tell them where he was being held, warning them that he had been beaten and was in a serious condition.

By the time he was taken to hospital a month later, Popov was emaciated and in a critical condition, weighing just 40 kg, despite being almost 2 metres tall. Another patient helped him call his parents.

“Mum, you told me there was a hell, and I’ve been there. I was so afraid to fall asleep. I was afraid that they would come and strangle me, kill me. And I was so thirsty, but they wouldn’t give me water. And I was even hungrier than I was thirsty,” Popov said in the call, adding that he had been so badly beaten that he couldn’t go to the toilet for four days.

The Investigative Committee subsequently called Popov’s father and said he was being released as no crime had been committed. However, Russian troops arrived at their house shortly after father and son got home, placed a bag over Popov’s head and abducted him again.

Popov senior made a statement to the Investigative Committee, who opened a file on the matter. In December 2023, it called him in and showed him a photo of his son holding a piece of paper which said “I’m fine! I refuse to disclose my whereabouts.” Popov’s father was made to retract his statement that his son had been kidnapped. Since then, he has received no information about Popov’s whereabouts or wellbeing.

Diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2018, Popov was unable to finish high school due to his worsening condition, which affected his speech. Having received none of the treatment he required, IStories said that his condition was only likely to have worsened since his second abduction.