Photos showing the stark physical transformation of a Ukrainian soldier after three years in Russian captivity have been circulating online, documenting the inhumane conditions faced by Ukrainian prisoners of war.

The comparative images of Oleksandr Strafun, a reserve officer who defended Mariupol, were published by volunteer Olena Zolotariova from the NGO “Power of People.” The photos show Oleksandr with his wife Olena before and after his captivity period. Both of them consented to have their photos appear online. This is how Russia’s full-scale aggression that began in February 2022 changed their lives forever. 

Oleksandr and Olena had lived for each other before the full-scale war. Though he had not participated in the fighting in eastern Ukraine since 2014 and worked at the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works, he felt compelled to serve when Russia invaded explicitly.

On 21 February 2022, Oleksandr contacted military recruitment offices to offer assistance. “He always knew that if something suddenly started, he had no right to stay home,” Olena recalled, according to her interview with 0629 news outlet about Mariupol. When he suggested she evacuate, she refused, citing her two cats and the need to help his parents.

Oleksandr enlisted in territorial defense forces on 25 February, finding the recruitment office nearly empty except for a guard directing volunteers to territorial defense units. The following morning, 26 February, he called from territorial defense headquarters with news that would define their separation:

“He said he wouldn’t return home anymore. I asked, when should I expect you? And he answered: ‘I’ll return after victory.'”

Their final direct communication occurred on 1 March 2022, when Oleksandr requested personal items including soap and socks. Olena was unable to deliver these supplies before contact ceased entirely.

During the siege, Olena remained in blockaded Mariupol despite knowing about the garrison’s order to surrender and the final stand of Ukrainian soldiers at Azovstal. She suspected Oleksandr might not answer calls from unfamiliar numbers, while her own phone had been stolen by Kadyrov forces.

After reaching safety, Olena connected with families of other prisoners through support networks. Through these contacts, she learned Oleksandr had been seen at the notorious Olenivka detention facility in occupied Donetsk Oblast and managed to pass along her new phone number through another prisoner’s wife.

On the night of 29 July 2022, an explosion struck a barracks at the Olenivka prison colony, killing about 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs), mostly defenders of Mariupol including members of the Azov Regiment, and injuring over 70 others.

Both Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for the attack: Russia claimed Ukraine used a HIMARS missile to strike the prison, while Ukraine accused Russian forces of deliberately shelling the facility to cover up torture and executions of POWs.

The day before the documented attack, Oleksandr called Olena and described unusual activity at the facility.

“He said something strange was happening in the colony, some constant movements. Some people were being taken away, others relocated. He thought, maybe this is already an exchange?” Olena recounted.

She went to sleep hopeful but woke up to the news of the explosion and casualties, not knowing if her husband remained alive. Oleksandr survived because he had been transferred to another facility prior to the incident.

He managed to call her, promising an exchange was coming and telling her to wait. That conversation marked the beginning of an extended silence lasting for years.

In 2025, Oleksandr was returned home to Ukraine in one of the prisoner exchanges that resulted from Istanbul peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations, that, however, failed to reach a ceasefire agreement.

All released soldiers undergo rehabilitation, including urgent medical care and psychological support. Ukrainian authorities also provide financial compensation for their time in captivity, as part of the reintegration process after often prolonged and brutal detention in Russia.

Ukrainian medical specialists have started procedures to remove a “Glory to Russia” inscription from the body of a serviceman who recently returned from Russian captivity, according to reports from medical professionals involved in the case.

The treatment is being conducted under the “Unburnt” national program, which provides free external rehabilitation and treatment for deformational, post-military injuries, burns and scars for people affected by the war. Maksym Turkevych, director of the program, confirmed the medical intervention alongside dermatologist Oleksandr Turkevych.

According to Oleksandr Turkevych, the Ukrainian serviceman was captured more than 15 months ago following combat injuries. The medical professional explained that when the soldier regained consciousness after surgery while in captivity, he discovered the inscription had been left by the operating surgeon.

The removal process began with an injection of polynucleotide, a substance commonly used in cosmetic and medical procedures to stimulate cellular and tissue regeneration. The treatment represents the initial phase of what doctors expect to be a multi-stage process.

Maksym Turkevych indicated that medical teams are preparing the scarred tissue for more intensive interventions. He projected that within several months, only minimal traces of the inscription would remain visible.

The case came to public attention when Clash Report initially published photographs of the released Ukrainian fighter. The images showed the “Glory to Russia” text visible on the man’s body alongside battle scars, with reports indicating the marking was made by occupying forces during his captivity.

Andrii Yusov, a representative of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, verified the authenticity of the photographs. Yusov explained that a Ukrainian medical professional took the images during a routine examination of the freed defender.

Ukraine conducted another prisoner swap with Russia, returning home dozens of wounded, ill, and young defenders, many of whom had been held since 2022. Both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and POW HQ did not specify the exact number of POWs returned in this exchange. One of the photos shows at least 41 people.

Fourth exchange in one week

On 14 June 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on his official Telegram channel that Ukraine had carried out the fourth prisoner exchange in a single week.

“We continue to bring our people back from Russian captivity,” Zelenskyy wrote.

He added that many of those released had been in Russian hands since 2022 and included servicemen from the Armed Forces, National Guard, State Border Guard Service, and the State Special Transport Service.

“We must free everyone and we’re working toward this so that no one is left to the enemy,” Zelenskyy stated, thanking all those contributing to the process.

Wounded, seriously ill, and young defenders returned

According to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, this latest exchange was part of a broader deal focusing on releasing those who are wounded or seriously ill. It was carried out under agreements previously reached with Russia in Istanbul.

The returned soldiers include members of the Armed Forces, Air Assault Forces, Navy, Territorial Defense Forces, State Border Guard Service, National Guard, and the State Special Transport Service. The Coordination Headquarters emphasized that the majority had been in captivity since 2022, with many captured during the defense of Mariupol.

High number of officers and young servicemen among released

Most of the freed defenders reportedly were officers, while some were under the age of 25. They had fought on multiple fronts, including the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Sumy, and Kursk directions. Their release marks a significant development in Ukraine’s ongoing efforts to bring its soldiers home.

The Coordination Headquarters confirmed that all released defenders will undergo comprehensive medical examinations and receive physical and psychological rehabilitation. They will also be granted the full financial compensation due for the duration of their captivity.

2022 Mariupol Defense

The defense of Mariupol in 2022 resulted in heavy losses for Ukraine, with hundreds of servicemen captured after the fall of the Azovstal plant. Since then, Ukraine has conducted multiple prisoner swaps, often focusing on those with severe injuries or health conditions, facilitated through international negotiations.

Since 2021, Russian Wagner mercenaries have detained, tortured, and forcibly disappeared hundreds of civilians in secret prisons across Mali, according to a joint investigation published on June 12 by Forbidden Stories, France 24, Le Monde, and IStories.

The investigation found that mercenaries with Russia's Wagner Group, working alongside Malian government forces, had systematically abducted and detained civilians, holding them in prisons at former United Nations bases and military bases across Mali.

Drawing on eyewitness accounts and satellite imagery, the investigation identified six detention centers where Wagner held civilians between 2022 and 2024. The total number of Wagner detention centers in Mali is likely to be much higher.

Prisoners were subjected to systematic torture – including beatings, waterboarding, electric shocks, starvation, and confinement in sweltering metal containers.

The investigation was carried out as part of the Viktoriia project, in memory of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who was captured by Russian forces in 2023 while investigating the illegal detention of civilians in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. She was killed in Russian captivity in 2024.

The Russian mercenary group, known for its deployment in Ukraine and short-lived rebellion against the Kremlin in 2023, has a strong presence across the African continent, backing Russian business interests and Moscow-friendly regimes.

The mercenaries have been particularly active in Mali since late 2021 and have been accused of perpetrating war crimes. In December 2024, Human Rights Watch accused Wagner mercenaries and Malian government forces of deliberately killing 32 civilians.

The Wagner Group recently announced its withdrawal from Mali, where it fought alongside Malian government forces to fend off Islamist insurgents. Wagner has been active across the African continent for years and has been previously accused of committing human rights abuses.

Ukraine war latest: Ukraine strikes targets in Russia, including gunpowder plant

Key developments on June 11: * Ukrainian drones strike targets in Russia, including gunpowder plant, General Staff says * Zelensky urges ‘stronger’ EU sanctions on Russia, lower oil price cap * Ukraine repatriates bodies of 1,212 fallen soldiers * Ukraine’s SBU releases fresh video of Operation Spiderweb, teases ‘new surprises’ * NATO summit statement

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk

Ukraine returned a group of severely wounded and seriously ill military personnel from Russian captivity as part of an ongoing major prisoner exchange program negotiated during Istanbul talks on 2 June.

Among the freed prisoners are defenders of Mariupol who spent more than three years in Russian captivity. All released individuals are male enlisted personnel and sergeants, with some previously classified as missing in action.

The returned personnel include service members from multiple branches of Ukraine’s armed forces, including the Airborne Assault Forces, Naval Forces, Air Forces, and Territorial Defense Forces, as well as personnel from the State Border Guard Service and National Guard, according to the Coordination Headquarters for Treatment of Prisoners of War.

“All need treatment, and they will definitely receive the necessary assistance,” Zelenskyy stated. “We continue working to bring everyone back from Russian captivity.”

The ages of the returned prisoners range from 22 to 59 years old, according to Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets. All freed personnel will undergo medical examinations and receive physical and psychological rehabilitation services, along with compensation payments for their time in captivity.

In a previous recent swap on 9 June, Ukraine returned captured defenders under 25 years of age, followed by wounded and ill military personnel the next day.

On 11 June, Ukraine repatriated the bodies of 1,212 fallen service members for forensic identification and return to families.

Ukraine and Russia are preparing to conduct a significant prisoner exchange on 7-8 June, with Russia indicating it can transfer 500 Ukrainian military personnel as part of a larger agreement, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced during a press briefing on 4 June.

According to Zelenskyy, Russia committed to exchanging 500 prisoners from a previously agreed total of 1,000, with Ukraine prepared to provide an equivalent number in return, Suspilne reports.

Meanwhile, Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky confirmed to the Kremlin that Russia expects the exchange to follow a “1200 for 1200” format beginning 7 June.

A notable change from previous negotiations involves the advance provision of prisoner lists. Unlike the May talks in Istanbul, both sides have now agreed to share these lists beforehand, though Ukraine has yet to receive them.

“The Russians gave their word that they would give us the lists in advance of who we are exchanging, this is important for us,” Zelenskyy stated.

This comes as reports emerged revealing that Russia manipulated the prisoner exchanges by sending mostly former prisoners convicted of non-war-related crimes who had been indefinitely detained in Russian deportation centers rather than captured Ukrainian soldiers or civilian activists.

The sides also committed to exchanging all severely wounded and seriously ill prisoners of war, plus all military personnel aged 18-25, focusing on prisoner categories rather than numerical equivalents. 

Beyond prisoner exchanges, the sides have established protocols for returning deceased soldiers’ remains. Zelenskyy explained that both Ukrainian and Russian documentation indicates only 15-20% of recovered bodies have been properly identified. The president emphasized the importance of accurate identification procedures, noting that body exchanges will commence after prisoner transfers are completed.

The most recent large-scale prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia happened from 23 to 25 May involving about 1,000 prisoners from each side.

Since March 2022, Ukraine has secured the release of 5,757 citizens through prisoner exchanges, with an additional 536 Ukrainians returned through other means.

Even in captivity, the enemy looks for cracks. Every Ukrainian released from Russian detention undergoes a screening by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) as Moscow may try to recruit them, according to Andrii Yusov, Deputy Head of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Ukrinform reports.

According to him, no saboteurs have been found among the former prisoners.

“Infiltrating a saboteur this way would be extremely difficult or senseless for the Russian intelligence services,” he says.

At the same time, Russian agencies did try to work with every prisoner: “In one way or another, they tried to manipulate them, sometimes even pressure their families. That’s why the state checks everything,” Yusov adds.

Counterintelligence analyzes the conditions of captivity, the prisoner’s behavior, and any possible contacts with the FSB. If evidence of collaboration is found, “procedural actions are taken in accordance with Ukrainian law.”

“Undoubtedly, none of this is overlooked,” Yusov emphasizes.

Earlier, Kyiv and Moscow agreed on the largest exchange of fallen soldiers since the full-scale war began in the latest meeting in Istanbul. This includes exchanging 6,000 bodies of fallen soldiers for the same number from the Russian side.

The family of 59-year-old Ukrainian soldier Serhii Hryhoriev spent months holding on to hope for his safe return. But instead of a reunion, they were faced with heartbreak when his body was returned from Russian custody. His death, now among over 200 confirmed fatalities of Ukrainian prisoners of war, has become part of a growing body of evidence cited by human rights monitors who warn of systematic abuse, medical neglect, and torture in Russian detention, AP reports. 

Serhii Hryhoriev worked as an office worker at a high school in central Ukraine. He enlisted in the military in 2019, and by early 2022 was deployed to Mariupol. On 10 April 2022, as the Russian siege of the city intensified, he made what would be his final call home. As he had done many times before, he tried to comfort his wife and daughters with the words: “Everything will be all right.”

That was the last time they heard his voice

Two days later, a fellow soldier’s relative informed the family of their unit’s capture. After the city’s fall, over 2,000 defenders were taken into Russian captivity. Soon after, the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed to his wife that he had been registered as a POW, which should have ensured legal protections under the Geneva Conventions.

A letter from him arrived in August. It was short, affectionate, and ended with the same words: “Everything will be all right.” But what the family later saw online — a video where he appeared frail, bearded, and toothless — suggested otherwise.

Survivor testimony exposes brutal conditions

Hryhoriev was held at the Kamensk-Shakhtinsky Correctional Colony in Russia’s southwest. Former detainee Oleksii Honcharov, who was imprisoned with him, recounted routine beatings for all captives.

“Everyone got hit — no exceptions,” he told AP.

According to Honcharov, violence continued even when prisoners showed serious health problems. He described months of chest pain that received no medical attention. “Toward the end, I could barely walk,” he said. After returning to Ukraine, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis — a condition increasingly found among former POWs.

Hryhoriev, despite his age, was initially resilient. But over time, he became dizzy and weak, eventually needing assistance to walk. Still, according to Honcharov, guards refused to hospitalize him and instead confined him to a cold, unlit cell, isolated except for a fellow Ukrainian prisoner assigned to watch him. He died there about a month later — on 20 May 2023, as recorded by Russian authorities.

Russians claimed stroke, autopsy showed blunt-force trauma

For more than half a year, Hryhoriev’s family heard nothing. Then, in March 2024, Ukrainian police informed them a body had arrived, tagged with his name and accompanied by a Russian death certificate citing a stroke.

Ukrainian forensic experts performed an autopsy. It contradicted the Russian version, identifying blunt-force trauma to the abdomen and damage to the spleen as the cause of death. His body was finally buried in Pyriatyn, Poltava Oblast, in June.

A growing count of dead, and few clear answers

The case of Hryhoriev is one among at least 206 known Ukrainian POW deaths in Russian custody, based on Ukrainian government figures, AP says. Another 245 are believed to have been executed on the battlefield by Russian troops. Human rights organizations and forensic investigators are trying to document the full scope of the violations.

Forensic analysis of repatriated Ukrainian POWs has revealed signs of torture, including fractures, bruises, signs of gangrene or untreated infections, and sometimes missing organs, according to forensic expert Inna Padei. Ukrainian officials report that Russia often withholds bodies until they are too decomposed for reliable autopsy. These findings, alongside survivor testimony, are being compiled to support war crimes investigations. Amnesty International has also accused Russia of concealing POW conditions and obstructing access to its prisons.

Forbidden stories: Ukrainian journalist went to document torture in Russian detention — her body returned without organs

According to a 2024 United Nations report, 95% of released Ukrainian POWs experienced systematic torture, including beatings, suffocation, mock executions, electric shocks, and sexual abuse. By contrast, the report said that while some Russian POWs were mistreated during their initial capture, abuse stopped once they were transferred to official Ukrainian detention facilities.

A family’s tribute

After Hryhoriev’s death was confirmed, his wife and both daughters marked their wrists with the same phrase he had so often repeated during the war: “Everything will be all right.” To them, he remains not just a victim, but “an angel in the sky.”

At least 206 of the 5,000 Ukrainian soldiers repatriated to Ukraine died in Russian captivity, the Associated Press (AP) reported on May 27, citing Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs) data.

There have been multiple reports of Ukrainian POWs being tortured or killed while in Russian captivity. As of May, the Prosecutor General's Office said criminal investigations were underway regarding the execution of 268 Ukrainian POWs.

Violence in Russian prisons is likely to have been one of the factors that caused a large number of deaths of Ukrainian POWs, the AP reported, citing previous reports of human rights groups, the United Nations, the Ukrainian government, and a Ukrainian forensic expert who conducted the autopsies of the POWs.

Out of 206 Ukrainian soldiers who died in captivity, more than 50 were killed during a Russian missile attack on Russia's notorious Olenivka POW camp in the occupied part of Donetsk Oblast.

Ukrainian authorities said that days before the explosion in the Olenivka prison, Russian occupation authorities singled out Ukrainian members of the Azov Regiment, who were captured in Mariupol and were awaiting a prisoner exchange, to a separate part of the prison building — the one that was destroyed.

The Prosecutor General's Office said that Russia likely used a thermobaric munition to strike the prison. Russia rejected the accusations and instead blamed the explosion on a Ukrainian HIMARS strike, an assertion rejected by the U.N.

In March, the U.N. confirmed 27 cases of executions by Russian troops, which resulted in the deaths of 84 Ukrainian soldiers since August 2024.

Victoria Tsymbaliuk, a representative of the Ukrainian Coordination Center for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs), said in October 2024 that at least 177 Ukrainian prisoners died in Russian captivity since the beginning of Moscow's full-scale invasion.

‘No one saw surrender as an option’ – Mariupol defender on historic Azovstal fight and brutal Russian captivity

Warning: This article contains descriptions of graphic scenes. A bullet fired by a Russian sniper hit Azov Brigade member Artem Dubyna in the head and passed through his neck. “He’s dead,” crackled the message over the radio to his comrades. But Dubyna’s heart was still beating. Evacuating his unconscious body

The Kyiv IndependentDaria Shulzhenko

Ukraine’s recent large-scale prisoner exchange with Russia did not include any members of the 12th Special Operations Brigade Azov, according to a statement by the National Guard’s 1st Corps Azov. The three-day swap, which concluded today, involved the return of 1000 prisoners on each side but left out the Azov fighters who had defended Mariupol in early 2022.

In a statement published on Telegram, the National Guard Corps Azov welcomed the exchange of members of two National Guard’s brigades – 14th Chervona Kalyna and 15th Kara-Dag – among those 1,000 prisoners who returned home over the past three days,

“We welcome home every soldier who today returned to their native land. Together we will restore our strength and defend Ukraine with even greater determination,” the statement said.

Then Azov confirmed:

“However, there were no servicemen of the 12th Brigade Azov in this exchange.”

The soldiers of Azov – the National Guard’s regiment at the time – had held off Russian forces alongside marines and local police for 86 days during the siege of Mariupol, delaying their advance and enabling Ukraine to organize its national defense. The defenders of Azovstal steel plant – the last Ukrainian stronghold in the city – were captured after the Ukrainian command ordered them to surrender.

“The fighters who were taken into captivity following orders after 86 days of defending Mariupol have been there for over 3 years,” Azov’s statement reads. “Over 800 Azov fighters are in their fourth year of captivity.”