'He Is In A Cell For Prisoners': Ukrainian Leader's Minor Son Allegedly Held Hostage By Russian Soldiers

The head of the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine has alleged that the Russian military was holding his 16-year-old son hostage for the last 18 days. According to Oleg Buryak, the head of the Zaporizhia regional state administration, though he tried to negotiate with the Russians, couldn't find a person for the boy's exchange.

Buryak had earlier taken to Facebook to detail the alleged abduction, claiming the boy was forcibly taken at a checkpoint between Melitopol and Zaporizhzhia, in Vasilyevka. He said his son Vladik was in a car with his relatives when the Russian soldiers stopped them at the checkpoint.

"When the military man approached and started talking to the women, he noticed that Vladik had a phone in his hands, and he said to him: "Are you filming me?" Naturally, everyone in the car immediately said: "No one is filming, the child is just playing on the phone, like all children." Then he demanded to give the phone," Buryak told Radio Free Europe.

The chief alleged that the soldier found videos of Russian prisoners of war inside it. The Russian military did not like them, and Vlad was pulled out of the car and taken to a cafe nearby. Their interest in Vladik increased when they found out he was Buryak's son.

The Ukrainian alleged that he is being held in a cell for prisoners for the last 18 days. "During this time, I had the opportunity to communicate with my son twice, and twice his mother had the opportunity to communicate with him," Buryak told the news outlet.

Buryak added that the Russians gave the boy an opportunity to wash for the first time on the eve of Easter. "He is fed dry rations and periodically given the opportunity to go outside, take him out for a walk. And he has a book, they gave him a book, he reads," he added.

The regional chief said the Russians set some conditions for the boy's release, but the negotiations are "deadlocked because I am unable to fulfill them."

"This is not money, to be immediately clear. If I had money, I would have already looked for this money and, I think, I would have found it. Therefore, since the negotiation process reached an impasse, I decided to go public on the eighth day," said Buryak, adding that he does not see a way for Vladik's release at this point. "I can't find a person for whom my son is willing to be exchanged," he added.