Former Crimean policeman exchanged for Ukrainian captives: details of the case

Exchange of a police official from Crimea for captured Ukrainians

According to glavcom.ua: A former police official from Crimea, accused of treason, was exchanged for captured Ukrainians. This news was reported by Russian media. In 2021, Mykola Fedorian expressed a desire to be exchanged for Ukrainian hostages detained by Russia. During the exchange of a group of civilians and military personnel on August 14, he was likely handed over to Russian special services.

According to Zaxid.net, Mykola Fedorian was detained in November 2020 at the administrative border with occupied Crimea for attempting to leave Ukraine. He was charged with 'assisting Russian law enforcement in conducting searches and detaining citizens in the Crimean 'Hizb ut-Tahrir cases.'' In 2021, he was informed of suspicion of treason.

I feel positively about the possibility of exchange, I have family there. I'm sad I couldn't attend my mother's funeral. I came to mainland Ukraine solely because of my parents, as my mother's legs failed - she had her third stroke. I did everything I could, I was detained on the way back. In February (2021) she died, she was buried, I wasn't there.

By the decision of the Holosiivskyi District Court of Kyiv on October 18, 2024, Mykola Fedorian was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment for treason. His lawyer filed an appeal and cassation complaint. The Supreme Court of Ukraine partially satisfied the cassation complaint of the defense on June 17, 2025, canceling the decision of the Kyiv Court of Appeals from February 6, 2025, and appointing a new hearing in the appellate court. A preventive measure in the form of detention for 60 days was applied to Mykola Fedorian.

During the exchange of captives, former police official Mykola Fedorian, accused of treason, was exchanged for Ukrainian hostages who were held in Russia. He expressed a desire to be exchanged back in 2021, as he had family in the occupied Crimea. It is also worth noting that Mykola's case was considered in Ukrainian courts, and he is currently still in custody.