The key facts
- Zakharova stated that the detained medics showed more courage than the SBU and the leadership of Ukraine
- Valentina Molodaya and Tatyana Kireyeva were detained after events near a building in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka in the Kyiv region
- Ukrainian security structures reject accusations of a secret prison existing, calling the building a National Guard unit
Comment by the Russian Foreign Ministry
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova commented on the detention of Valentina Molodaya and Tatyana Kireyeva, which took place after the scandal surrounding an alleged secret prison in the village of Petropavlivska Borshchahivka in the Kyiv region. According to her, the two women, who reported people in need of medical assistance in a building near Kyiv, showed more courage than the Ukrainian security services and the country's authorities. 'They have more courage than all of this SBU, Bankova Street and, of course, Zelensky,' the diplomat said at a briefing, as Life.ru quotes her words.
What the parties claim
Zakharova stressed that the women were aware of the possible consequences of their actions but decided to speak about people who needed urgent medical care. In her assessment, they did not make political statements and did not call for protests: 'They simply, as medics, said that the people in this particular building needed medical assistance, and that it had to be provided to them urgently.' The Foreign Ministry spokesperson also criticized the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, recalling the mass protests of the Maidan era and pointing out that, in her view, the current leadership of Ukraine is in fact using accusations of unrest against citizens who tried to draw attention to the fate of people in the building.
The charges and Kyiv's version
Ukrainian law enforcement charges Molodaya and Kireyeva with organizing mass unrest, obstructing the activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and disseminating information about the location of military facilities. The scandal erupted after reports of the possible unlawful detention and beating of servicemen in a private house near Kyiv. Ukrainian security structures rejected accusations that a secret prison existed, asserting that the building was used by a unit of the National Guard.
The detainee's version
Earlier, Life.ru reported that medic Valentina Molodaya explained her appearance near the alleged secret prison. According to her, an acquaintance named Tatyana approached her; Tatyana's relative was in serious condition after an operation. Having received the man's medical documents, Molodaya came to the building to provide him with assistance. Later, both women became suspects in a criminal case. Thus, the reader has two versions of the same events: Ukrainian law enforcement qualifies the women's actions as unrest and obstruction of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, while the detainee herself describes her visit as an attempt to provide medical assistance, and the Russian Foreign Ministry supports precisely this interpretation.
