Paralyzed due to multiple strokes, Oleg was left alone in his apartment in Mariupol, a strategic port city on the eastern side of Ukraine, after his caregiver mother was killed in a missile attack.
Oleg's ordeal began when Russian soldiers entered his building and took his wheelchair, claiming it was needed for a wounded soldier. With no electricity, water, or phone connection and temperatures plummeting to -10C, Oleg was left to fend for himself.
His daughter, Yanina, a 25-year-old technology worker based in Kyiv, recounts the harrowing experience. "After the soldiers took his wheelchair, he lay on a dirty mattress half naked, having to go to the toilet on himself for almost a month. He couldn’t escape, get to safety,” she told The Independent.
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Following Russia's takeover of Mariupol, Oleg was moved to an institution in the occupied town of Makiivka in Donbas, eastern Ukraine. There, he endured appalling treatment, including the amputation of parts of his foot due to frostbite.
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Oleg's story is not unique. According to the United Nations, tens of thousands of people with disabilities in Ukraine have been disproportionately impacted by Russia's invasion, suffering the brunt of the horrors of the war.
Yanina spent five months trying to rescue her father and bring him back to Ukrainian-controlled territory. However, the authorities in Makiivka were hostile. "The authorities in Makiivka were very aggressive when I tried to get him out. It was like bailing my dad out of a prison,” she said.
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A year after his rescue, Oleg passed away. His family believes the traumatic experiences in Mariupol and Makiivka took a deadly toll on his body.
The Independent's 18-month investigation has shed light on the suffering of people with disabilities in Ukraine, revealing possible war crimes committed against them, including forcible transfer, deportation, and abusive treatment that could amount to torture.
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Ukraine's outdated care system, inherited from the Soviet Union, has been criticized for its reliance on the systematic institutionalization of people with disabilities. Despite efforts to reform the system and build a "barrier-free" country for all, the war halted progress.
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As of February 24, 2022, when Russian forces marched on Kyiv, tens of thousands of Ukrainians with disabilities were still living in hundreds of residential institutions across Ukraine. The conditions in these institutions have been described as "appalling" by United Nations experts and a recent European Commission report.
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Elham Youssefian from the International Disability Alliance described the situation as a "crisis within a crisis" for people with disabilities. "Because of all the barriers that existed before the war, it put people with disabilities at highest risk, and doubled the situation,” she said.
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The Independent's investigation also revealed the lack of evacuation plans for people with disabilities when Russian tanks rolled through Ukrainian territory. According to Fight for Right, a Ukrainian disabilities rights group and research center, only 46 institutions out of an estimated total of 260 evacuated when Russia invaded.
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The war has also resulted in a new generation of people with disabilities in Ukraine. Unofficial statistics suggest there are as many as 20,000 new amputees in the country due to the war.
Despite the challenges, Ukraine is working towards creating a more accessible environment for people with disabilities. Backed by Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska, the country is building new prosthetics centers to help people adjust to life-altering injuries.
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However, the ongoing bombardment and occupation of Ukrainian territory by Russia continue to hinder these efforts.
For Yanina, the loss of her home, city, grandmother, and father is a pain that "nothing can ever tame". But she is determined to use her experience to raise awareness of the plight of those with disabilities.
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“On the first day, when my dad arrived in Kyiv from the occupied areas, he asked me, ‘Yanina, can you help me with something? I want to sue Vladimir Putin in the International Criminal Court.’ Of course, that was somewhat of a joke, but we both wished for justice,” Yanina said.
While Oleg did not live to see his dream of justice realized, his story serves as a stark reminder of the human cost of war. As Yanina puts it, "truth can never be silenced."
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