published23. September 2022, 20:48
Ukraine war4 months in Russian captivity – this is what a Ukrainian fighter looks like today
Ukrainian commander Mykhailo Dianov was a prisoner of war in Russia from May to September. The first picture after his release shocked.
This picture also shows Mykhailo Dianov: On May 10, the fighters who had held out for a long time in the Azov steel plant in the port city of Mariupol, which was besieged by Russian troops, published pictures. It is not known when the photos were taken.
via REUTERS
On May 11, people from the Azovsteel plant were taken to Russia.
AFP
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Mykhailo Dianov is a former Ukrainian commander who held out for months at the Azov steel plant in Mariupol.
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In May he was taken to Russia as a prisoner of war.
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On September 22, Dianow was released as part of a prisoner exchange – his physical change is shocking.
On Tuesday, 215 Ukrainian fighters were released after four months in Russian captivity. Among them are several dozen soldiers and five commanders who had been held out for months in the Azov steel plant in the port city of Mariupol, which was besieged by Russian troops. One of the five senior POWs released is Ukrainian Sergeant Major of the 36th Brigade Mykhailo Dianov.
Yelena Lavrushka, sister of the former fighter, published an updated picture of Dianov on Thursday. The picture shows the man shirtless. The picture is shocking: the man is emaciated, the consequences of a serious injury can be seen on his right arm. For comparison, a picture from May is circulating on Twitter, while Mykhailo Dianov was still stuck in Azovstal (see picture 2 of the picture series). His broken arm was then treated with a fixator.
In the besieged Azov steel plant, the men had shared a can of tuna a day among four people for a long time, as the wife of a fighter told 20 Minutes reporter Ann Guenter.
At the Azov Steel Plant, they shared a can of tuna among four people
According to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the liberated persons have now been taken abroad. “We have agreed that the five released Azov commanders will be able to stay in Turkey in comfortable conditions and see their families until the end of the war,” said the Ukrainian head of government, according to the portal “War Ukraine».
Dianov is said to be not the only one to show signs of torture after his release from Russian captivity, said Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov. There are prisoners whose physical condition is “more or less normal, apart from chronic malnutrition due to poor prison conditions,” he told Ukrainian media. Budanov did not want to give any further details on the physical torture method.
Prisoners need psychological treatment
According to Ukraine’s Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, all exchanged Ukrainians need psychological treatment. In addition to Ukrainians, ten people of other nationalities were released in the exchange. They were held in various facilities in Russian-held Ukrainian territories and in Russia.
55 military personnel were sent back to Russia as part of the exchange. In addition, the Ukrainian multi-millionaire Viktor Medvedchuk was brought to Russia. He is considered a close confidant of Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin and was dubbed his man in Ukraine.
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