Nikolaenko Vladimir Vasilevich (Mikolayenko Volodimir Vasilovich)

On April 18, 2022, in occupied Kherson, Russian security forces abducted the politician and former mayor of the city, Vladimir Nikolayenko. According to his family's testimony, Nikolaenko went to meet a friend, after which he stopped making contact. A month later, in May 2022, the Russian publication 'Izvestia' released a video in which Vladimir Nikolaenko, speaking with a Russian journalist, refused to say on camera that UPA commander Roman Shukhevych fought for Nazi Germany and emphasized that Shukhevych fought for Ukraine. It is known that Vladimir Nikolaenko joined the ranks of the territorial defense immediately after the full-scale invasion. After his detention, Russian military personnel tried to persuade him to cooperate, but he refused. Presumably, Nikolaenko is being held in the IK-7 colony in the village of Pakino, Kovrovsky District, Vladimir Region, which has been converted into a prisoner-of-war camp. On August 24, 2025, the Ukrainian was released as a result of another exchange of prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine.