‘Torture and Executions’: A Ukrainian Border Guard’s Tale of 18 Months in Captivity

Vyacheslav, a Ukrainian border guard, shares his harrowing account of 18 months of torture, executions, and inhumane conditions in Russian captivity.

The young man volunteered to defend Ukraine in  the first days of Russia’s invasion. In civilian life, he was a metal worker, working at a metallurgical plant in Zaporizhzhia.

In late April 2022, Vyacheslav and his fellow troops found themselves surrounded and captured by Russian forces in the Donetsk region.

The Ukrainian border guard says the captives  dealt with brutal beatings as Russian soldiers kicked them and hit with rifle butts. During the  interrogation that followed, a Russian army officer shot them in the legs, and later intimidated them while they were down on the floor bleeding.  After the officer put out a cigarette on Vyacheslav’s ear, he went on to shot other POWs.

Three of the captives died there.  The Russian officer aimed his hand gun at Vyacheslav, and only faulty ammunition saved the Ukrainian captive’s life.

In March, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission unveiled a report on torture and executions of Ukrainian POWs that paints a dark picture of the crimes commited by Russian troops in Ukraine.