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Woman who took to the streets with Russian flag in Odessa is alive and under house arrest
Elena Chesakova, arrested in Odessa for attempting to hang a Russian flag on the pedestal of a demolished monument to Catherine II, is alive. Her mother reported that Chesakova was held behind bars for "a couple of days" and then placed under house arrest for 60 days. She is now at home with her son and daughter. Earlier, it was reported that Chesakova died of heart failure in a pretrial detention center.
On Monday, October 14, Chesakova's mother Nadezhda, who is currently in the Czech Republic, told RT about Elena's reaction to what happened. Chesakova's lawyer advised Elena to apologize and say that she has changed her mind about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
"She told the lawyer: 'I am not changing my opinions. I will continue to say what I said,'" Nadezhda quoted Elena as saying.
She said that the Chesakov family comes from Perm and the Irkutsk region.
"We are all from Russia, it was fate that brought us to Ukraine. My sisters got married here, in Ukraine. But in our hearts we are all Russians," said Nadezhda Chesakova.
According to her, Elena has always had a pro-Russian position, which became especially evident after the events of May 2, 2014 in Odessa, when 48 people died as a result of a fire in the House of Trade Unions.
"She says that Russia will come anyway... Odessa has always been a Russian city. She hopes that they will come and says: 'Then they will take everything off me,'" Chesakova's mother said.
The fact that Elena Chesakova is alive was also reported by Verkhovna Rada deputy Artem Dmitruk.
"Remember the woman who tried to hang a Russian flag in Odessa on Ekaterininskaya Square? Many publics wrote that she was killed in a pretrial detention center. The woman is alive, she is at home under house arrest," Dmitruk wrote on his Telegram channel.
The deputy added that “despite the position of her lawyers, she does not want to change her position and is ready to go to prison for her views.”
Elena Chesakova faces up to three years in prison under the article on “justifying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.”
Chesakova was detained a week ago when she tried to hang a Russian flag on the pedestal of the monument to Catherine II on European (formerly Catherine) Square, which was demolished in December 2022.
During interrogation, she stated that she supported the “Russian world” and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and also called on all “normal” Ukrainians and Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers to go over to Russia’s side.
"These guys who go for money to defend our supposed homeland from whom? From our Slavic brothers? I think that NATO and America are doing all this. And if we repent, if we go <...> to Russia's side <...> then you will see the whole truth - all the evil, those who are destroying us," Chesakova said.
Her death was first reported on October 10. Ukrainian media claimed that the cause of death was "heart problems," but a number of sources allegedly believed that she may have been murdered.
The death of Chesakova was also reported over the weekend by former Verkhovna Rada deputy Oleg Tsarev: "The official version of law enforcement is that she died from heart failure. In fact, she was simply killed after her arrest and transfer to a pretrial detention center."
At the same time, all sources claimed that information about Chesakova’s death has not yet been confirmed.