Ukrainian soldier Vladyslav (33), a member of the National Guard, survived torture by Russian troops, who cut his throat and threw him into a pit. The man managed to crawl to Ukrainian positions for five days.
His story is told by Suspilne.
Vladyslav has been receiving treatment at a medical facility in the Dnipropetrovsk region since August 17. He was admitted to the hospital in serious condition: he had lost a lot of blood, and his wounds had begun to rot.
Due to his injuries, he cannot speak, but he described his story in a diary — it was told to journalists by the soldierʼs wife Viktoria and brother Yevhen.
The man was captured a few weeks ago when his brigade lost control of a position near Pokrovsk. According to the soldierʼs brother, Vladyslavʼs comrades, who were the first to be captured, were brutally tortured — their eyes were gouged out, their lips were cut off, their male organs were cut off, their ears and noses were cut off.
Vladyslav was the last of eight fighters to be thrown into a pit by Russian soldiers, who thought they were all dead. After waiting for the Russian soldiers to leave, Vladyslav tied a cloth around his throat and crawled for almost five days to Ukrainian positions.
"He says he was lucky that when they threw them into the pit, they poured more garbage on top so it wouldnʼt be so visible. There was a broken bottle there, and his hands were tied, so he was able to cut the rope with that bottle," says Viktoria.
The serviceman has already undergone surgery. Doctors will do everything possible to ensure that Vladyslav can speak again.
Despite what he has experienced, Vladyslav is already thinking about returning to the front to take revenge on the Russians, says his brother Yevhen.
At the same time, he adds that the manʼs biggest dream right now is to see his four-year-old daughter.
This is the first time in 11 years of war that such an injury has been treated among soldiers at this medical facility, says the general director of the medical facility Serhii.
- The Russians regularly execute Ukrainian prisoners of war, with at least 268 cases reported as of July.
- The Ukrainian side informs the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN about cases of execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
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