Correspondent Ilya Andreev resigned from Channel One due to the outbreak of war, but a year later he signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense, hoping to remain in the rear; however, he was assigned to the sappers, and then sent to a basement for “refuseniks” in the occupied Lugansk region. This was reported by Astra and “Important Stories” with references to the wife and acquaintances of the channel’s ex-employee.
In April 2022, Andreev left Channel One after a business trip to the outskirts of Chernigov. “I really left Channel One. I returned from a business trip and wrote a statement. This was three weeks ago. Yes, the reason is what is happening at the front,” Andreev said in a conversation with Astra in early May.
According to correspondent friend Maxim Fedorov, Andreev was released from his last place of work with a “black mark,” which prevented him from finding a new place. Yesterday, journalist Roman Super published a letter from a former colleague of a Channel One employee. She said that after his dismissal she offered financial assistance, but was refused. In February 2023, he changed his mind and she loaned him the money.
“I lent him more than he asked for. I was sure that he would return everything,” wrote Andreeva’s ex-colleague. She added that “neither on the appointed day, nor after almost six months, Ilya never gave the money.” Other acquaintances of Andreev confirmed to Important Stories that he asked for a loan and promised to repay the debts soon.
In August, the ex-correspondent’s relatives learned that he had entered into a contract with the Ministry of Defense because he was promised service in the rear and living with family. “It was only later that we realized what a mess we were in. He was assigned the profession of sapper, although he is actually colorblind, and this is written on his military ID,” explained Andreev’s wife, Yana Vedenova.
Andreev was assigned to military unit No. 31985 in Naro-Fominsk. On September 20, he informed his wife that he was being taken to Lugansk. Vedenova’s unit said that they only provide information about whether the employee is alive, and added: “still alive.” The girl commented: “I understand everything, but I’m crazy.” Already on October 11, Andreev said that he was sent to the front line “without anything at all.”
Despite his participation in hostilities, the ex-employee of the TV channel had problems with payments. Shortly before he was sent to the front, he got married and together with his wife took a double surname.
In this regard, the documents specified in the contract became invalid, and the terms of the contract were not fulfilled by the second party. Then he wrote a report on granting time off. Andreev was repeatedly promised to be released to replace his documents, but this did not happen.
On November 13, his wife and her lawyer arrived in Naro-Fominsk — from there they called Belolutsk in the occupied Lugansk region. They again promised to release the man. Two days later, the unit’s leadership, according to Vedenova, decided to punish her husband, so he was tied to a tree without shoes for 12 hours. On November 17, the wife came to Belolutsk to visit her husband, and together they went to the border with the Belgorod region. There Andreev was detained, after which he was placed in a basement in the village of Zaitsevo.
Astra wrote about the basement for “refuseniks” back in November last year. Journalists learned that military personnel who refused to fight were being held in Zaitsevo. By December 2022, according to Astra, there were about 300 people there. After publications in the media, the telegram channel writes, the basement was “dispersed”, but in June the editorial office again began to receive reports of detained employees.
As Astra claims, military personnel are not fed in the basement for “refuseniks”; they are not allowed to go to the toilet, shower or receive medical care. In addition, men are called «pigs.» “Two or three weeks in the basement in unsanitary conditions and hunger, now in the snow and wind in light clothes,” said the wife of one of those who were sent to the basement.