World

REPORT: American Pastor Kidnapped By Russian Forces

[Screenshot/Instagram/ps_dbodyu]

Kay Smythe News and Commentary Writer
Font Size:

An American missionary was reportedly abducted by Russian troops in Ukraine early Saturday morning.

Dmitry Bodyu, 50, was allegedly forced to leave his family’s home in Melitopol by Russian troops, according to the Daily Beast. Bodyu’s wife, Helen, said that roughly eight to 10 Russian soldiers came into their home, took cell phones, computers and his United States passport, but were generally “non-aggressive,” the outlet continued.

“Are you guys American citizens?” was apparently the first question the troops asked Bodyu and his wife, NBC reported. Bodyu was born in the Soviet Union and emigrated to the U.S. with his parents when he was 17. He returned to Crimea as an adult and moved to Ukraine in 2014 after the Russian annexation due to his American citizenship, his daughter Esther Bodyu-Ogawa told the outlet.

The troops appeared to know that Bodyu was a pastor when they entered his home, according to NBC. (RELATED: Russia Making Ukrainian Civilians Disappear, According To UN)

“It could be because we’re American citizens. It could be because he’s, you know, a big influencer. A lot of people follow him and really want to know what he’s preaching about and what he’s telling people, making sure he’s not, like, talking about Russia and trying to tell people, ‘Yes, this is a bad thing,'” Bodyu-Ogawa told NBC.

“I know they were going through all of his preaching videos, because that’s what they told my mom when they came back on Monday, to bring all their computers and phones back,” she continued.

Bodyu regularly posted videos of his work at the Word of Life Church. The family has not heard from Bodyu since he was taken, and they have no way of knowing where he is, according to the outlet.

The State Department is aware of the situation but did not comment citing privacy reasons, NBC reported. According to a Ukrainian spokeswoman for the nation’s deputy prime minister, at least 14 local leaders have been kidnapped or abducted by Russian forces since the start of the invasion.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel