VANISHED

Ukrainian-American Pastor Kidnapped by Russian Forces, Family Says

Dmitry Bodyu was allegedly abducted in Melitopol, the same city whose mayor was recently taken—and later released—by Russian soldiers.

An American missionary has been abducted by Russian forces from a southern Ukrainian city, according to members of his family, who said soldiers came into their home last week and took cell phones, computers, and documents. Dmitry Bodyu, 50, was forced to leave with the troops, who were non-aggressive, according to Bodyu’s wife, Helen. The group, made up of eight to 10 Russians, also confiscated his U.S. passport, she told NBC News. “They walked in and they just started kind of questioning him right away, like, ‘Are you guys American citizens?’—that’s kind of like one of the first questions they had,” Bodyu’s daughter, Esther Bodyu-Ogawa, said. Bodyu was born in the Soviet Union, and immigrated to the United States with his parents when he was 17, his family said. He has been working in Ukraine for roughly the last three decades, according to his father, Sergey, who lives in North Texas. Bodyu preached at Word of Life Church in Melitopol, a city that made headlines earlier this month when Russians kidnapped—and later released—its mayor.