Dmitry Bodyu is a Ukrainian American who has been kidnapped by Russian forces, his wife, Helen, said. Photo: Instagram
Dmitry Bodyu is a Ukrainian American who has been kidnapped by Russian forces, his wife, Helen, said. Photo: Instagram
Dmitry Bodyu is a Ukrainian American who has been kidnapped by Russian forces, his wife, Helen, said. Photo: Instagram
Dmitry Bodyu is a Ukrainian American who has been kidnapped by Russian forces, his wife, Helen, said. Photo: Instagram

World

US

Ukrainian-American pastor kidnapped in Ukraine, says wife

Family of Dmitry Bodyu said Russian forces took him from his home

Willy Lowry
Willy Lowry
Washington

March 25, 2022

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A Ukrainian-American clergyman living in the southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol has been kidnapped by Russian forces, his family has said.

Dmitry Bodyu, 50, was last seen on March 19, when Russian troops entered his home in the Russian-controlled city and proceeded to ask for his US passport.

His son, whom The National reached by text message in Ukraine, said the soldiers “collected all of our gadgets [phones, laptops and tablets]” and then ushered Mr Bodyu into a car and took him away.

Dmitry Bodyu was forced to leave with the Russian troops, who were non-aggressive, his wife, Helen, said. Photo: Instagram
Dmitry Bodyu was forced to leave with the Russian troops, who were non-aggressive, his wife, Helen, said. Photo: Instagram

The family has not seen or heard from him since.

The soldiers returned the following day and asked for his Bible and a sleeping bag.

“I am worried,” said Esther Lily Bodyu Ogawa, Mr Bodyu’s eldest daughter. “I mean, deep inside, I believe and I want to believe that he's safe and he's going to come home. But of course, from not knowing exactly what's going on and how he is and not getting any information, that's what is, of course, building up that worry inside.”

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Ms Bodyu Ogawa, who lives in the US state of Hawaii, described her father as a smart and very social person with friends all around the world.

“He helps a lot of people and so, this is why we are so shocked that it's happening to him,” Mr Bodyu Ogawa told The National.

US news media reported that Mr Bodyu immigrated to the US as a teenager from the Soviet Union and has spent much of the past three decades living and working in Ukraine, where his three children grew up.

The family cannot figure out why he was taken but believes his US citizenship may have been a factor.

This is not the first high-profile abduction in Melitopol. On March 11, the mayor of Melitopol was taken by Russian forces and subsequently released six days later in exchange for nine Russian soldiers.

The US State Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Pro-Russian troops drive armoured vehicles past local residents in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. Reuters
Pro-Russian troops drive armoured vehicles past local residents in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. Reuters
Heavy smoke from a warehouse destroyed by Russian troops casts a shadow on a road outside Kyiv. AP
Heavy smoke from a warehouse destroyed by Russian troops casts a shadow on a road outside Kyiv. AP
Sunflowers and an image with a message in Spanish that reads 'Peace in Ukraine' placed outside the Russian embassy in Mexico City by demonstrators during a protest against Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. AP
Sunflowers and an image with a message in Spanish that reads 'Peace in Ukraine' placed outside the Russian embassy in Mexico City by demonstrators during a protest against Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. AP
Ukrainians pay their respects during the funeral Senior Lt Igor Fedorchik in Lviv. The Ukrainian officer was killed when Russian forces shelled the town of New Kahovka. EPA
Ukrainians pay their respects during the funeral Senior Lt Igor Fedorchik in Lviv. The Ukrainian officer was killed when Russian forces shelled the town of New Kahovka. EPA
St Basil's Cathedral, as viewed from the Red Square in Moscow. EPA
St Basil's Cathedral, as viewed from the Red Square in Moscow. EPA
A young Ukrainian refugee looks out of a tent after crossing the border by ferry into Romania on March 24, 2022. AP
A young Ukrainian refugee looks out of a tent after crossing the border by ferry into Romania on March 24, 2022. AP
From left, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi pose for a family photo during the G7 summit in Brussels, Belgium. Reuters
From left, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi pose for a family photo during the G7 summit in Brussels, Belgium. Reuters
Smoke billows from a fire on what the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence says is a Russian warship at the port of Berdiansk, Ukraine. Reuters
Smoke billows from a fire on what the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence says is a Russian warship at the port of Berdiansk, Ukraine. Reuters
Yurii, brother of Ihor Fedorchyk, 38, a soldier killed by Russian shelling in the town of New Kahovka, hugs his mother, Myroslava, as they mourn during his funeral at the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine. Reuters
Yurii, brother of Ihor Fedorchyk, 38, a soldier killed by Russian shelling in the town of New Kahovka, hugs his mother, Myroslava, as they mourn during his funeral at the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine. Reuters
A woman cleans broken glass from a staircase in an apartment building damaged by bombing in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP
A woman cleans broken glass from a staircase in an apartment building damaged by bombing in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP
Civilian victims of Russian bombings are treated in a hospital in Kharkiv, Ukraine. EPA
Civilian victims of Russian bombings are treated in a hospital in Kharkiv, Ukraine. EPA
People rest with their belongings in a city subway being used as a bomb shelter in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP
People rest with their belongings in a city subway being used as a bomb shelter in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP
Anti-tank barricades are placed on a street in preparation for a possible Russian offensive in Odesa, Ukraine. AP
Anti-tank barricades are placed on a street in preparation for a possible Russian offensive in Odesa, Ukraine. AP
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a house destroyed in a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a house destroyed in a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP
Ukrainian servicemen carry a coffin during a funeral in Lviv, Ukraine. EPA
Ukrainian servicemen carry a coffin during a funeral in Lviv, Ukraine. EPA
A Ukrainian serviceman carries a fragment of a rocket outside a building in Kyiv that was destroyed by Russian shelling. AFP
A Ukrainian serviceman carries a fragment of a rocket outside a building in Kyiv that was destroyed by Russian shelling. AFP
Nadia holds her 10-year-old granddaughter, Zlata Moiseinko, who suffers from a chronic heart condition, as she receives treatment at a schoolhouse that has been converted into a field hospital in Mostyska, western Ukraine. AP
Nadia holds her 10-year-old granddaughter, Zlata Moiseinko, who suffers from a chronic heart condition, as she receives treatment at a schoolhouse that has been converted into a field hospital in Mostyska, western Ukraine. AP
A neighbour walks on the debris of a burning house destroyed in a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP
A neighbour walks on the debris of a burning house destroyed in a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP
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