Ukraine arrests peace activist
Posted: 20th March 2026
Yurii Sheliazhenko, a dedicated peace activist and conscientious objector in Ukraine, has been abducted by police there. Yurii is a Member of the Board of Directors of World BEYOND War, executive secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, a board member of the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection, and a council member of the International Peace Bureau.
For years the Ukrainian government had threatened to prosecute Yurii for supposedly supporting the Russian side in the war—using as evidence for the charge a statement in which Yurii denounced both sides of the war.
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On March 19th, representatives of the Pechersk District Police in Kyiv, along with an individual claiming to be a TCC (Territorial Recruitment Center) officer who refused to identify himself, illegally detained Yurii Sheliazhenko on Perspektyvna Street. Yurii managed to call his lawyer, but the officers did not wait for the lawyer’s arrival.
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In Solidarity,
The RootsAction Team
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