A volunteer group that is helping evacuate civilians from Ukraine amid the brutal Russian invasion said that some of its drivers were detained by Russian forces. Alex Voronin, head of the non-government organization "Help People," told CNN that ten drivers were transporting civilians out of the city of Zaporizhzhia at the end of March when they were stopped by Russian troops.
The soldiers ordered the drivers to take the evacuees to Russia. When the drivers refused to comply, they were detained.
"All of them carried out the evacuation of people in the direction of Mariupol-Zaporizhzhia, they were sent on their trips on different dates - March 26, 27, and 31," Voronin said. "Communication with them broke off the next day after departure. According to the people they managed to evacuate, the Russian military took the vehicles with people in Mariupol from the drivers, the evacuees were taken to the village of Nikolske, the drivers themselves were taken away for identification. Some of them are being held in pre-trial detention centers in Donetsk."
Russians released one of the drivers, who claimed he was tortured during his captivity.
"They were interrogated with brute force, fed poorly, and kept in appalling conditions. All the rest were told they have the right to keep [in detention] up to 30 days."
Ukrainian officials said that the continued Russian attacks in Mariupol have decimated the city and left over 10,000 people dead. An estimated 100,000 people are still waiting to evacuate.