Batavia (New York): Two Ukrainian men who entered the United States through the Uniting for Ukraine humanitarian parole program remain in federal immigration detention at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, New York, while a third has been released on a $25,000 bond with an electronic ankle monitor, according to a statement issued on November 7 by their New York attorney, Elena Dvoinik.
Source: EIN Presswire / Attorney Elena Dvoinik statement
The attorney said all three men fled Russia's war in Ukraine, entered the United States lawfully through the parole program, and have no reported criminal records. Their detention is now being challenged in federal habeas corpus proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, where two judges have set government deadlines on November 12 and November 13. No final decision has been issued in either case.
Vitaliy Stavnisty, 59: Evacuated Thousands From Mariupol, Now Detained
Vitaliy Stavnisty, 59, is a retired Ukrainian police officer, accomplished athlete and former transportation company owner from Zaporizhzhia, a city that has faced repeated Russian missile and drone attacks. After Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, he used buses from his own business and his personal money to help evacuate thousands of civilians from Mariupol and other areas under attack, and, according to his family, helped deliver more than 60 tons of humanitarian supplies.
Source: EIN Presswire / Attorney Elena Dvoinik statement
Stavnisty later entered the United States through Uniting for Ukraine, and his attorney says his humanitarian parole remains valid through May 2028. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested him on October 18, 2026, at a gas station in the Buffalo area, and he remains detained at Batavia. His attorney says the Department of Homeland Security has not provided an adequate explanation of the legal grounds for the arrest and continued detention. Stavnisty previously underwent spinal surgery and had another operation scheduled; after reports that his condition deteriorated in detention, his attorney requested an urgent medical evaluation.
In Stavnisty v. Ball et al., No. 1:26-cv-02482-JLS, U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra Jr. issued an order on October 30 directing the government to respond by November 13 and to address applicable Second Circuit precedent. The case remains pending, and the legal basis for the detention is disputed.
Source: EIN Presswire / Attorney Elena Dvoinik statement
Roman Serdiuk: A Seaman From Occupied Mariupol
Roman Serdiuk is a professional international seaman from Mariupol with a bachelor's degree in navigation who has worked aboard commercial vessels on six-month rotations since 2015. He was at sea on an assignment with the shipping company MANX in August 2021 when Russia invaded; Mariupol was destroyed and came under Russian control in May 2022, and relatives warned him of the risks of returning. He later entered the United States through Uniting for Ukraine, and his application for renewed parole remains pending before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Source: EIN Presswire / Attorney Elena Dvoinik statement
ICE arrested Serdiuk on September 28, 2026, at a gas station in the Buffalo area, and he too remains detained at Batavia. An immigration judge denied his bond request for lack of jurisdiction — a determination his attorney challenges, citing Barbosa da Cunha v. Freden, 175 F.4th 61 (2d Cir. 2026). In Serdiuk v. Ball et al., No. 1:26-cv-02567-LJV, U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo on November 5 barred Serdiuk's transfer outside the Western District of New York and ordered the government to show cause by November 12 why his habeas petition should not be granted.
The Third Man: Released on Bond, Living Under Supervision in Pennsylvania
The third man, identified by his first name, Igor, is an international tanker driver who, according to the attorney's statement, also assisted civilian evacuations in Ukraine. On October 19 an immigration judge authorized his release on a $25,000 immigration bond with electronic ankle monitoring. ICE then transferred him to the Jackson Parish detention facility in Louisiana before he was released after the bond was posted. He now lives in Pennsylvania under ICE supervision and reporting requirements. According to Igor, his mobile phones, identification documents and jewelry went missing while he was in ICE custody, and a complaint was submitted to the DHS Office of Inspector General; after his release he reported a fever approaching 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Those accounts are his and his attorney's, and no official response to them has been published.
Source: EIN Presswire / Attorney Elena Dvoinik statement
A habeas corpus petition asks a federal judge to review whether the government has legal authority to keep a person in detention. It does not decide the person's underlying immigration case; it tests the detention itself. In these two cases, the judges have not ruled on the merits — they have ordered the government to justify the detentions on a deadline.
Background: Why This Case Matters Beyond Batavia
Uniting for Ukraine is the humanitarian parole program created for Ukrainians fleeing Russia's invasion, under which beneficiaries are admitted for a set parole period. The Batavia cases test a question with consequences for parole holders across the United States, including in New York's large Ukrainian community and among internationally mobile workers such as seafarers and tanker drivers: whether a person whose parole has not expired — or whose renewal is still pending — can be held in detention, and which court has the power to order a bond hearing. The attorney's position is that the detentions lack an adequate legal basis; the government's answer is due in court this week and has not yet been made public.
What is solid
- Two men, Vitaliy Stavnisty and Roman Serdiuk, are detained at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, with habeas cases pending in the Western District of New York (case Nos. 1:26-cv-02482-JLS and 1:26-cv-02567-LJV).
- Judge Vilardo's November 5 order bars Serdiuk's transfer out of the district and sets a November 12 show-cause deadline; Judge Sinatra's October 30 order sets a November 13 government response deadline for Stavnisty.
- A third man was released on a $25,000 bond with electronic monitoring and lives in Pennsylvania under ICE supervision.
What is only claimed
- The legal basis for the detentions: the men's attorney says DHS has not adequately explained it and that Stavnisty's parole runs through May 2028; the government has not yet filed its court responses.
- Accounts of missing property in custody and of medical deterioration, which come from the detainees and their attorney and have no published official response.
What Happens Next
The government must show cause by November 12 in Serdiuk's case and respond by November 13 in Stavnisty's case. The judges will then decide whether the habeas petitions move forward, whether bond hearings are ordered, and whether either man is released while his immigration proceedings continue. Awaaz Punjab will update this story when the government files its responses or either court rules.