The administration of Pre-trial Detention Center No. 1 in Rostov-on-Don prohibits Kherson resident Serhii Ofitserov and other unlawfully detained prisoners from reading books, as well as from using notebooks and pens.
This was told to the publication ZMINA by the prisoner’s father, Hennadii Ofitserov.
According to him, in August Serhii, together with two other inmates, was moved to a new cell where, due to a lack of places, he was forced to sleep on the floor.
In the penultimate letter dated October 8, 2025, Serhii reported that he finally received his own bed with a mattress and two sheets. At the same time, the window in the cell still has not been glazed, which makes it cold there.
“We are forbidden to read books, as well as to have pens and notebooks. During the “shmon” they threw crosswords and sudoku out of the cell. They left only a radio, which constantly talks about victory and the growth of everything,” — the prisoner wrote in the letter.
Hennadii Ofitserov notes that in February a verdict is to be announced for all Ukrainians in the case of the so-called “Kherson nine”. Currently, the court is hearing the statements of the unlawfully imprisoned Kherson residents.
“There have recently been more cases when during an appeal the sentence is only increased, so for now we do not know how we will proceed,” he says.
Recall that Kherson resident Serhii Ofitserov was kidnapped by Russians from his father’s apartment on August 3, 2022. At first he was held at the Main Directorate of Police of Kherson Oblast, then transferred to Lefortovo, and from there – to Rostov. The man is also a defendant in the case of the so-called Kherson nine, in which Russia accused the local men of “terrorism”.
While imprisoned, Serhii took up drawing. Mostly he creates copies of famous paintings, and also paints the faces of inmates, prison life and his native city. The SIZO administration is not enthusiastic about his hobby and often destroys his works. But sometimes he manages to hand them over to his father.
“Kherson nine” – a group of Ukrainians whom Russian forces abducted in July–August 2022, and later declared participants of a “terrorist organization”. Among the “nine” two are former servicemen, the others are civilians.
Earlier we wrote that the former mayor of Kherson, Volodymyr Mykolayenko, released from Russian captivity, is initiating assistance in the release of Kherson prisoners.