Commissioner for Human Rights in Tver Oblast, Russia, Nadezhda Yegorova stated that Ukrainian political prisoner Volodymyr Balukh stopped the hunger strike as Acting Healthcare Minister reported on Twitter.

According to her, Balukh stopped the hunger strike as soon as the Russians fulfilled his demand and admitted the Ukrainian council.

Firstly, Russian human rights activist Viktoria Ivleva reported about the end of the starving. According to her, Balukh demanded to return him a Psalter, provide him with warm clothes and call the council of Ukraine.

“All issues, on which Balukh was starving, are solved: a Psalter and warm clothes were given back a few days ago and Ukraine’s Council visited Volodymyr today", Ivleva reported.

On June 27, Volodymyr Balukh announced hunger strike once more. Balukh wrote a letter, where he confirms the beginning of the hunger strike. On the eve of that, Balukh reported that there is a threat to his life in the prison.

The representative of Ukraine’s Consulate to Russia was not allowed to visit the Ukrainian political prisoner.

September 10,2018, the Supreme Court of occupied Crimea controlled by the Kremlin did not grant the appeal of Volodymyr Balukh’s lawyer Olga Dinze on his conditional release. It was noted that the activist participated in the session through a video conference from the remand prison.

Balukh was arrested on December 8, 2016, nine days after he nailed a plaque renaming his home No. 18 to “Heroes of Nebesna Sotnya St’ in memory of the over 100 Maidan activists who were killed during Euromaidan protests in Ukraine.

He had rejected the demands of the head of the local council to remove it. During an irregular ‘search’ of his home, 90 bullets and several TNT explosive devices were allegedly found in his attic.