In the Russian prison where Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Khilyuk was held, prisoners were forced to make captives sing the anthem of Russia and 'Darkie'. They were surprised that Ukrainians did not know these songs, so they printed the lyrics on paper. There were harsh punishments for refusing to sing
Regarding 'brainwashing', the imposition of Russian narratives - Dmytro Khilyuk said that in that prison, when he was there, ideological work was 'not up to par'. 'No, there was nothing like that. In Pakino, ideological work was conducted very poorly. And all because in Novozybkov we were perceived as prisoners of war, and that local pre-trial detention center was subordinate to the Ministry of Defense. And Pakino prison is an ordinary prison, without political officers or anything. They treated us like criminals and treated us like criminals,' the journalist recounts.
The conditions of forced stay in the Russian prison for the Ukrainian journalist were extremely harsh, forcing him to confront aggressive propaganda and unacceptable conditions of detention.