Captured Yany Kapu Michman Speaks After 286 Days in Russian Prison

On September 7, 35 Ukrainians, imprisoned by Russia on falsified charges, returned home as part of a deal between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Ukrainian sailors were among the returnees, and one of them was the michman of the tugboat Yany Kapu, Yuriy Budzylo. 

This tugboat and two cutters were seized by Russian forces on November 25 near the Kerch Strait. 

The captured sailors were charged in occupied Crimea and in Russia, as members of an organized criminal group, with illegally crossing the border. They were not recognized as prisoners of war and their military uniforms were seized. In May, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea recognized the Russian Federation’s actions as being illegal and mandated the release of the captured sailors. Russia refused to comply with the Tribunal’s demands.

“We were there for 286 days, 6840 hours,” said Budzylo, remembering which moments during his imprisonment were the hardest. 

The michman confirms that he will not leave service while the war continues. He added that the Ukrainian Naval Forces have already offered him a post on a new tugboat.

The sailors are currently undergoing rehabilitation at the military hospital in the capital.

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Yuriy, why did you decide to serve as a sailor?

This was always my dream. I’ve loved the sailors uniforms ever since I was a kid. My father served, and I also dreamed of the fleet. I began my service in the Baltics in [now St. Petersburg] Leningrad region, in the city of Mamonovo, where I went through my training. I was trained as a deck-mounted tower electrician for above-water craft. After I completed my training, I was assigned to the Black Sea Fleet. And I served there until 1993. Once I had completed my service, I went to work in the military commissariat. And then I was called for again. I finished my warrant officer training in Kotovske, until I reached the rank of Assistant Military Commissar. In 2004 I left due to the expiration of my military contract, and in 2007 I again re-enlisted to the fleet.

Please tell us about 2014. You were leaving Crimea, how did everything happen?

Our commander betrayed us. He tricked us, took us to the pier and said: “I’ve saved the boat, I’ve saved the crew, that’s it, we’re surrendering.” I didn’t surrender, I returned to Odesa, where they offered me the tugboat “Krasnoperekopsk,” which they later renamed to Yany Kapu. And I served as its commander.

When did you learn about the November crossing? Why was it necessary?

I learned about it the same day that it was to occur. I can’t talk about the task that made it necessary at the moment, because it’s not yet time.

Ihor Voronchenko, the commander of the Ukrainian Navy, told us during an interview that the tugboat went to the crossing because a maritime pilot was to be picked up there.

Yes, we were supposed to pick up a pilot and with the pilot head out to the Sea of Azov.

When did you understand that things weren’t going as planned and that the pilot wouldn’t be there?

We arrived and waited the entire day for this pilot. In the evening they told us that there wasn’t going to be any pilot. Then we received an order to go to Odesa. We came right up to the so-called border. And they started to ram us, follow us, and afterwards, as you know, they opened fire. Three sailors were injured.

The ramming started even in the morning, when we just started the crossing, despite us sending messages that we were crossing, that we have a point to meet with a pilot. But no one paid attention to that on the Russian side.

Let’s talk about courts in Crimea. What do you remember? How did it go for you, what was the mood like? Did you have a lawyer?

What was the mood like? Quite negative. There was no physical force, but…

The whole day we sat in one hall under guard. They fed us in the evening and asked us a few questions in the presence of a public defender. We invoked Article 51 of the Russian Federation, that is, we refused to testify.

What interested them the most during the first questions?

About life in Ukraine. They were most interested in how we lived. Because they see on TV and read that our lives are bad. I said that we lived pretty well.

They took us from Kerch to Simferopol. I met my lawyer at court, Azamatov Aidar Bilyalovich. He told me the defense’s position, and we were covered by the Geneva Conventions.

You were in uniform then. When did they take it from you?

I was in uniform until I arrived at Lefortovo remand prison. There they took them and gave us their penal uniforms. And that’s all, after that I didn’t see a uniform until we got home.

We heard from your lawyers that you and the other sailors were sent to different detention centers?

No, we were all at Lefortovo. Only the injured guys were first in Matrosskaya Tishina ("Sailor's silence" -ed.) remand prison on rehab, and then they were also transferred to Lefortovo.

Before you went to Moscow, where were you held in Crimea? Before court and after, before you reached Moscow?

They took us to the jail in Simferopol after the court hearing.

How long were you there?

A day.

And then you were told that you were being transferred?

They didn’t tell us anything. They just put us in transports, took us to the airport, put us on the plane, and we only saw from the plane that we were near Moscow.

What can you tell us about the detention center? How did they treat you in Moscow? What did they tell you there? What were the cells like? And how many people were there? Who were you put in with?

The cells were for two people, but we were separated from each other. Over the course of nine months, we only saw each other in the transports, on our way to court. That’s when we saw each other. And in court.

We shared cells with random people - some with politicians, some with businessmen, some with oligarchs. For example, my first cellmate was a politician, and then the next was a terrorist.

What did you do all day? Was there any yard time?

Of course. Every day we had yard time for an hour, in the fresh air. Only it was surrounded by four walls, and a chain roof pulled tight.

What other activities were there?

We read books. There’s a library there. Every ten days they gave out three books. Once you finished a book, you required the library to come, and once it had, you gave the books back. The first two months were hard to get used to...but then...man can get used to anything.

 Did you have any idea of when you’d be released?

I never stopped thinking about when all this would end. But to hope that it would be today or tomorrow was useless, because it's a difficult thing, maybe the hardest thing, when you’re imprisoned.

About the Moscow courts. Please tell us how the arraignment went. As far as we could tell, the court’s decision was already made…

No one even asked us a single question in that prison. How can you ask us questions if we’re relying on the Geneva Convention and are prisoners of war? For us, these courts were illegitimate. They were fake, only used to lengthen our imprisonment.

We understand that your wife came to one of the court sittings.

Yes, my wife and my daughter.

Please tell us about this. What did you talk about?

We almost didn’t talk, because they didn’t give us the chance to talk. We saw each other from a distance. It was very nice on the one hand, very nice that they came. On the other, it was very difficult to see them and not have the chance to talk.

Of course, we smiled. We wouldn’t show that we’re weak and sitting with our heads in our hands, would we? No! I always went to court with a smile, because I didn’t do anything wrong. I went with a smile because I don’t consider myself to be weak. I’m a strong person.

Did you receive letters?

I received several from my wife, one from my mother and one from my mother-in-law. I didn’t get any others, though I know now that a lot of letters were sent, from countrymen and from schools. We were sent letters from everywhere, but the Russians didn’t hand them to us.

What can you tell us about the volunteers? They worked hard to help with things, and groceries…

A huge thank you for their support.

They worried a lot, and are still worried about you…

I know. Victoria Ivlyeva was once again arrested. About Ivlyeva I’ll say just one thing: her care packages supported me greatly. She came to pass me packages many times. I often think about how they stood at the walls and waited for the one moment were they could pass along things to me. This was a lot of work, of course. A lot. And it’s very sad that they’re suffering now because of us.

These moments, when you were in court, in detention, what did you  think about that crossing? If you could go back in time, would you still go?

I did my duty to the country. If they had told me then what was going to happen, I would have still gone.

We know that Pavlo Gryb and Oleksandr Kolchenko were told to write requests for pardon. Did the same happen to you?

No.

When did you learn about the prisoner exchange?

When I was woken up at 4 in the morning and told to gather my things. I didn’t even know why or where. They just said: gather your things.

What did you think about at that moment?

I didn’t think about anything. I just gathered my things. I thought that, maybe, now, it’s over. Because by their orders they don’t have to right to wake up from 10 pm to 6 am, or bother us or anything. That’s why I understood that we’re going somewhere. But where - this I didn’t know.

And when did you understand that it would be to Ukraine?

When I saw our plane at the airstrip.

You’ve been imprisoned for 9 months, and a lot has happened in Ukraine in that time. There were elections. Did you know about or follow the events in Ukraine? Did you know that there was a new president?

I knew there were changes. There was a TV there, true they don’t show everything, but I heard that our president Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke on the phone twice with President Putin. I didn’t have a television at that point, though, I heard it on the radio. There was only one station - ‘Mayak’, which I listened to all day long, to hear anything about Ukraine. Mostly they talked about Ukraine and America, Ukraine and America all day long.

I want to say that I respect our previous president, and our current one. Our current president Volodymyr Zelenskyy saved us from there, and helped us return home to our families.

Did you know that the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea made a decision?

We had hope that the decision of the Tribunal would free us. But as we saw, nothing works on the Russians, not European courts, not tribunal decisions, not PACE, nothing.

Now about the exchange. Did you know who you were being traded for, and who was sent back to Russia?

No. They didn’t tell us anything.

Have you read or seen any news about it now? Everyone was very happy that you returned, but we didn’t know about who would be sent to Russia until the last minute. But now we know that Kyrylo Vyshynsky and Volodymyr Tsemakh were sent.

They told everyone about Vyshynsky, but I only learned about Tsemakh here in the news. No one knew about the exchange list.

How long will you stay at the hospital?

Until they let us go. I don’t know how long that will be. Once we can leave we will probably go to Odesa. And there are procedures there: we’ll have to write about who will continue to serve and who will be released.

Who did you talk with first when you returned?

The first person I spoke to was the president. He told me: “I wore a bracelet with your name with honor, and now it’s your turn.” My daughter gave him that bracelet, and he wore it until I returned.

What did the commanding officer of the Navy say to you when you met him?

He congratulated me on my return. He asked if I will continue to serve. I answered that I will. Then he said that we should be getting a new tugboat, and if I wanted to serve on it. I said yes.

You’re sure that you’ll remain in the Navy?

Of course. There’s no one else to do it, except us.

Has all of this made you closer [with the other guys]?

We had good relations before this. I’ve served with most of them before in Crimea. And a few came to me when I was commander of the torpedo recovery ship “Kherson.” Most of the guys on the tugboat served with me on the “Kherson.” Then they came with me to the tugboat.

What did you learn from this whole episode? Maybe it changed you somehow?

I learned to treasure those who are close to me, my family, my country, and my people.

There has been a lot of speculation about why you went there, that you were framed. Do you harbor any ill feelings on that front?

Remember, I’m a military man. I’m used to fulfilling orders. That’s all.

The cutters were supposed to go from Odesa to Mariupol or Berdyansk to guard our borders. Previously our ships passed without problem, and we expected to pass without incident. But they didn’t give us the chance.

We know that on November 25, two Russian ships hit each other. Are you aware of this?

I don’t need to know that, I was a part of it.

Please tell us about it.

I cannot talk about it until it is made official.

There was news from the lawyer and from [Ombudsperson] Lyudmyla Denisova that during New Years celebrations, someone came to your cell without identification and without identifying markers and tried to talk to you. Was this true?

Yes.

What did they ask? What did they want?

They wanted to talk about life in Ukraine, about the crossing. I didn’t talk to them because I didn’t have a lawyer present. Without a lawyer I couldn’t talk to them. I was relying on the Geneva Convention, and that’s where our conversation ended.

You said yourself that your wife asked you to resign from service. What was your reaction?

How can I react to this? I love her a lot, but service is service. I know my work. I’ll wait for the end of the war. Once the war is over I’ll head home, to sit, as the saying goes, on the oven. I think that right now every able-bodied person should take up arms and defend their government.

Were you provided with medical assistance in Moscow?

They provided us with some, and there were follow ups and systematic care. They brought me pills every day, because I have diabetes. Consuls passed me medicine that I used. I had 12 operations on my head. The climate wasn’t right, and I developed furunculosis - they cut them out. Only the scars are left.

We spoke with others who said that they missed out on a lot and need to catch up. What are your thoughts and plans? 

I have a lot of plans. I don’t even know where to start. I know one thing - I need to start with my grandson. Because he waited for me, my wife waited, my daughter, my mother, my sons. Everyone waited. And so I’ll start with my family.