People are thrown to the "basement" and beaten for speaking Ukrainian in the temporarily occupied territories.

Recently, a civilian couple managed to leave the temporarily occupied Kherson region. They spent almost two years in the occupied territory and suffered cruel treatment by the occupiers. The woman was twice taken to the "basement" and severely beaten because she spoke Ukrainian," informed Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.

The man and woman tried three times to get to the Ukrainian-controlled territory: the first time, an evacuation vehicle was shot at in front of them, and the second time, the Ukrainians were beaten. Only the third attempt was successful.

With the assistance of the Ombudsman's Office, an evacuation route was developed, and psychological support was provided to the couple. As a result, today Ukrainians are in relative safety. The woman says that when she found herself on the territory controlled by Ukraine, she knelt down and kissed the ground.