Serhiy Tsyhipa is turning 65 on 10 August, his fifth birthday in Russian captivity. The Ukrainian journalist, writer and civic activist from Nova Kakhovka (Kherson oblast) has already paid a heavy price for speaking out against Russia’s invasion and occupation of his homeland. Publicity is needed to ensure that he does not serve Russia’s reprisal 13-year sentence to the end. Olena Tsyhipa has issued a plea for people to join her in a flashmob for her husband’s birthday. She asks that they take a selfie, or make a videoed message, holding a placard reading “65 years – 5 years stolen’ under the hashtag #FreeSergiyTsyhipa. Even if Serhiy does not receive the greetings in the Russian prison colony where he is held, they will help to draw attention to his imprisonment,
A collection of poems written by Serhiy Tsyhipa in Russian captivity was published in June under the title “Alphabet of Captivity”. In presenting the book, Olena stated: “My husband has managed to retain what is most valuable: his inner freedom of thought and power of the word. The book is an important reminder of the fate of Ukrainian civilians whom the Kremlin is illegally holding in its prison camps. It is a call to not be silent, but to remember and act.”
Serhiy Tsyhipa was 60 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and swiftly seized control of Nova Kakhovka, where Serhiy was known as a journalist and the head of a region civic organization.
He became a volunteer immediately after the invasion, helping to provide residents with humanitarian aid, while also using his pages on social media to provide accurate information, organize and post videos of the pro-Ukrainian protests which demonstrated the real opposition to Russia’s invasion. Within a matter of days, the invaders began violently dispersing the peaceful protests and abducting civilians with an openly pro-Ukrainian position.
Tsyhipa disappeared on 12 March 2022 as he was heading to Tavriysk to take medicine to his mother-in-law. Oleh Baturin, a fellow journalist, who was abducted a day later, but released after eight days, was able to confirm that Tsyhipa was held by the Russians, with that almost the only information that Serhiy’s family had for the first eight months. It was the only direct information, since a video which appeared on the Internet in the middle of April essentially confirmed fears that Tsyhipa had been subjected to torture. There was no other way that Tsyhipa would have repeated standard Russian lies, such as the claim that the documented proof of Russia’s crimes in Bucha and other areas under Russian occupation had been staged in order to blame Russia and get it expelled from the UN Security Council. Olena Tsyhipa has since learned from former hostages who were briefly held with her husband that the Russians also threated to come for her and other members of the family and subject them to the same torture.
Russia acknowledged that Tsyhipa was in custody in November 2022 and formally accused him of ‘spying’, under Article 276 of Russia’s criminal code, in December 2022. They actually claimed that Tsyhipa had ‘voluntarily turned up’ in occupied Crimea to confess to his supposed ‘spying’.
The ‘case was passed to the occupation ‘Crimean high court’ on 13 July 2023, with all five (possibly six) ‘hearings’ held behind closed doors. He was sentenced on 6 October 2023 by ‘judge’ Victor Skliarov to 13 years in a harsh-regime prison colony.
This was upheld on 13 February 2024 by Russia’s Third court of appeal, under presiding ‘judge’ Yelena Kaporina, with that hearing also behind closed doors.
On 27 March 2025, a cassation chamber of Russia’s supreme court rejected the cassation appeal against Tsyhipa’s sentence. This was despite the clear illegality of Russia trying a Ukrainian citizen, abducted from Ukrainian territory, under Russian legislation on ‘spying’, as well as clear indications that torture had been used. This was the one and only ‘hearing’ that was not held behind closed doors. The reason may well have been the presence of diplomatic representatives from Canada and three European countries, although the latter did not stop them from rubberstamping an evident travesty of justice.
Russian secrecy did not stop the renowned Memorial Support for Political Prisoners Project from recognizing Serhiy Tsyhipa as a political prisoner even when he was still held prison in occupied Crimea.
Please take part in the above-mentioned flashmob and / or write to Serhiy!
Letters or a birthday card will tell both him, and Moscow, that he is not forgotten. Unfortunately, only letters in Russian and handwritten will be accepted and they also need to be on ‘safe subjects’.
If it’s hard to write in Russian, there are adequate translation tools, for example, on ChatGPT, though try to avoid using idioms and any expression that might not be understood.
Address (which can be in Russian or English):
391846, Рязанская область, г. Скопин, Октябрьский мкр-н, ул. Заводская, д. 1, ФКУ ИК-3 УФСИН России по Рязанской области
Цыгипа Сергей Витальевич, 1961 г. р.
Or 391846 Russian Federation, Ryazan oblast, Skopin, 1 Zavodskaya St, Prison Colony No. 3,
Tsyhipa, Sergei Vitalievich (b. 1981)
