Ukrainian Navy “Angels” extract Russian-tortured civilian helper from occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast

The Ukrainian Navy's "Yanholy" (Angels) reconnaissance unit evacuated a Ukrainian civilian named Serhii (name changed for security) from temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast to government-controlled territory after a multi-stage operation, the unit posted on Facebook. Vice-Admiral Oleksii Neizhpapa, the commander of the Ukrainian Navy, ordered the operation in late March 2026 after colleagues in the Defense Forces asked him to help.

Detention, torture, prison

Serhii sheltered Ukrainian soldiers in occupation, transferred the wounded military who needed help at night and handed them over directly to Ukrainian troops in a boat, and also helped obtain useful intelligence, he said in the Yanholy video. He practically forced his wife and children out of the occupation, ending up alone, he said.

On the night of 1-2 August 2022, Russian FSB officers broke into his home.

"They dragged me out, scrunched me into a bundle, and my 'business trip' began," Serhii said. 

He was taken to an undisclosed location and tortured. A Russian court sentenced him to five years and three months under Russian legislation. He spent over three and a half years in Russian custody.

Russian authorities later released him, but he was left without documents and under constant FSB and "commandant office" surveillance, the unit said — conditions that critically complicated any movement out of the occupation, effectively making it impossible. 

"Three cameras watched me 24 hours a day," Serhii said.

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The "Yanholy" extraction

The Yanholy did not disclose how exactly the man was extracted. The Ukrainian navy's ground units are best-known for operating in Kherson Oblast, where the occupied part is separated from government-controlled territory by the Dnipro River. Yanholy's video shows a boat moving across the Dnipro River, suggesting that Serhii was extracted by boat, either in Kherson or Zaporizhzhia Oblast. 

After he reached Ukrainian-controlled territory, Serhii was put on a train and brought to his family. The unit arranged a surprise reunion with his wife, whom he had not seen for more than three years.

"A breath of fresh air. Honestly, I'll tell you, I didn't have enough air," Serhii said when asked what he felt now on Ukrainian-controlled territory. "Calm. I don't have to hide. I don't have to look over my shoulder."

Not the first such operation

This is not the Yanholy unit's first operation of this kind. In October last year, the unit extracted a 29-year-old Armed Forces veteran and a 34-year-old National Guard service member who had spent over three years in captivity and slavery in temporarily occupied Luhansk Oblast.