Since his release from a Russian prison, Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Khyliuk has barely been off the phone. BBC reports that he spent three and a half years in Russian captivity after being detained in the first days of the full-scale invasion. He was freed last month in a prisoner swap, one of eight civilians released in a rare move by Moscow.

Amid the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, most exchanges between Russia and Ukraine have involved soldiers. The return of eight civilians, including Dmytro, came in a group of 146 Ukrainians. They did not disclose the exact terms of the deal, only that it included “people Russia was interested in.” One source told BBC that some of them were residents of Russia’s Kursk region, evacuated during Ukraine’s incursion in 2024.

Crowds gathered waving Ukrainian flags when the freed men returned, many of them emaciated from years behind bars. Stepping off the bus, Dmytro immediately phoned his mother to say he was finally free. His parents are elderly and unwell, and he had long feared never seeing them again.

A testimony of constant cruelty

Speaking to BBC after his release, Dmytro described brutal treatment in multiple Russian facilities.

“They grabbed us and literally dragged us to the prison and on the way they beat us with rubber batons shouting things like, ‘How many people have you killed?’” he recalled.

Guards sometimes set dogs on prisoners.

“The cruelty was really shocking and it was constant,” he said.

He was never charged with a crime. In the first year, he endured starvation, losing more than 20 kg in a few months. He lost more than 20kg in the first few months. He also saw soldiers tortured with electric shocks during interrogations. The sounds of their pain and the bruises on their bodies left lasting impressions.

Captivity begins at home

The ordeal started in 2022 in Kozarovychi, his family’s village near Kyiv. As he and his father Vasyl checked damage to their home during Russia’s assault on the capital, troops detained them. Both men were bound, blindfolded, and held in a basement under warehouses used as a Russian base.

Vasyl was released, but Dmytro was transferred deeper into Russia. His parents later received just two scraps of paper from him. One note read, “I’m alive, I’m well. Everything’s ok.” For months, they feared the worst.

Families left waiting

BBC reports that more than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians remain missing. Officials have confirmed that only a fraction are in Russian prisons. Moscow does not publish lists. In Dmytro’s area alone, 43 men remain unaccounted for.

One of them is Volodymyr Loburets, detained at the same time as Dmytro. He has a new grandson he has never met. His wife Vira told BBC,

“I had a husband – and now I don’t.”

Families are frustrated because the Ukrainian government will not swap Russian soldiers for civilian hostages.

Ukraine’s impossible choices

Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets told BBC that dealing with Russia is like “playing chess with an opponent who stands up, pulls on boxing gloves and punches you.” Ukraine has no Russian civilian prisoners to trade, while sending soldiers back in return for civilians would trigger more abductions. Only one previous exchange involved Ukrainians accused of collaboration. It is unclear if that approach will be repeated.

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Home again, but changed forever

For Dmytro, the long wait is almost over. He is recovering in a Kyiv hospital before returning to his village. His mother Halyna can hardly mention his name without crying.

“When Dima called, he told me to be calm, that I shouldn’t cry anymore. But we haven’t seen our son for three and a half years!” she said.

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Back home, his house still bears shrapnel scars from Russia’s advance. He admits returning requires adjustment.

“So the trees are the same, the buildings are the same. But you understand this is a different country. You’re in a different reality,” he said.

A new Ukrainian military robot is rolling out. Oboronka news site reports that the 4-ton ground drone named “Bufalo” is diesel-powered, armored, and built for AI-assisted frontline logistics and demining.

Bufalo: Ukraine’s new diesel-driven ground drone for war

Bufalo’s key advantage is its diesel engine. Fuel tanks can be scaled by mission, giving it a range of 100–200 km without battery swaps. Developers say electric drones can’t meet today’s longer frontlines.

“Electric drones cannot cover the distance to deliver provisions and ammunition to the front,” said company head Vladyslav.

Built for real combat conditions

Bufalo’s chassis is armored with European steel. It withstands any bullet and indirect 152 mm artillery if shells land beyond 100 meters. Even if damaged, its wheels remain operational.

The drone uses Starlink with GPS or a radio link for communications. A CRPA antenna protects satellite signal from jamming. If Starlink fails or is disabled, a relay-equipped drone can take over the signal.

AI-driven navigation, but no killer robot

Bufalo uses onboard cameras to detect obstacles up to 15 meters away, suggest safe routes, and stop if needed. Navigation is assisted by AI, but decisions stay human-controlled.

“The robot can lock onto and follow a target, but it will not make decisions to destroy equipment or people. I will never allow it to make decisions in place of a human…” said Vladyslav.

From failure to battlefield resilience

The idea for Bufalo came after a drone prototype failed a demo—losing a wheel and flipping. A soldier dismissed the tech, pushing Vladyslav to start from scratch. His new team asked the General Staff for requirements and collected feedback from frontline units.

Requests included smoke grenades, armored wheels, a shielded bottom to resist mines, and Starlink integration. All were implemented.

Timeline and domestic focus

The Bufalo project launched in January 2025. From March to August, the team built and tested the demining version. That kit includes the drone, a hydraulic system, mulcher, control panel, and trailer.

What’s next for Bufalo?

Bufalo is modular and may get combat features soon. The team is exploring weapon modules and engineering tools like remote trenching scoops. An 11-channel radio jamming system has passed tests and is ready for integration.

“We’re building an infrastructurally simple drone, so one control system can be removed and another installed. We’ve made understandable communication interfaces. The EW manufacturer just needs to provide a connector—we’ll plug it in and it’ll work automatically,” said Vladyslav.

The team plans an official presentation, followed by codification and production. Initial output will be 10 drones per month, with plans to scale.

Two separate train derailments hit Russia’s Leningrad Oblast on 14 September—one involving 15 fuel tanker cars, the other killing a train driver. Just a day earlier, three Rosgvardiya personnel were killed by an explosive device planted on railway tracks in Oryol Oblast. Russian authorities are investigating all incidents as possible sabotage.

15 tankers derail in Luzhsky district

According to Russian Governor of Leningrad Oblast Alexandr Drozdenko, a locomotive pulling 15 empty tank cars derailed in Luzhsky district at the Stroganovo-Mshinskaya rail section. No casualties were reported. Drozdenko stated that two emergency recovery trains were dispatched from St. Petersburg to the site of the incident.

As a result of the derailment, train movement was blocked in two directions. Ten suburban electric trains were delayed or canceled.

Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported on the derailment, and another channel, Supernova+, claimed sabotage affected two separate railway segments in Leningrad Oblast—specifically in Luzhsky and Gatchina districts.

Train driver dies in second derailment near Semrino

Russian news Telegram channel Astra reported another derailment in the same oblast near the station of Semrino, located in Gatchina district. In this incident, a lone locomotive left the tracks. The train driver was trapped inside the cabin and later died in the ambulance, Astra wrote.

Governor Drozdenko confirmed that sappers were deployed to the scene. He also noted that investigators were examining the version of sabotage.

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Three Rosgvardiya members killed in Oryol Oblast rail explosion

On 13 September, an explosive device detonated on the Maloarkhangelsk–Glazunovka rail segment in Oryol Oblast, killing two Rosgvardia national guard members and injuring another. One day later, the injured officer died, bringing the total death toll to three.

Governor of Oryol Oblast Andrei Klychkov initially confirmed the deaths of two personnel, and a day later, he announced the third fatality. Acting Governor of Kursk Oblast Aleksandr Khinshtein later clarified that all three victims were Rosgvardiya officers.

On 4 September, InformNapalm, a volunteer intelligence initiative focused on Russian aggression in Ukraine, published the personal data of 33 Russian prison staff reportedly involved in the torture of Ukrainian POWs at Mordovia’s IK-10. The exposé builds on survivor testimony broadcast by RFE/RL’s Skhemy.

According to InformNapalm, IK-10 has become a conveyor of abuse and repression since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The Mordovia-based colony reportedly held about 700 Ukrainian POWs as of April 2025. Just 177 have been released.

“The rest remain in captivity, continuing to fight not only for freedom but for their lives,” InformNapalm wrote.

InformNapalm publishes 33 names of Russian prison staff tied to Ukrainian POW torture

A volunteer intelligence group investigating Russian war crimes has publicly identified 33 staff members of Russia’s notorious penal colony No. 10 (IK-10) in Mordovia. InformNapalm, which since 2014 has gathered open-source intelligence to expose war-related abuses, released names, ranks, addresses, contact information, social media profiles, and roles of individuals allegedly responsible for the torture and inhumane treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

The release follows a 17 July 2025 investigation by the Ukrainian news program Skhemy (“Schemes”), a project of Radio Svoboda, which aired testimony from survivors held at IK-10.

Inside a prison built to erase identity

Located in the settlement of Udarnyi, Zubovo-Polyansky district, IK-10 is operated as a special-regime facility. InformNapalm and “Schemes” both describe an atmosphere of total psychological suppression, where prisoners were routinely denied medical care, beaten, forced to stand for hours, and cut off from any knowledge of their whereabouts.

Guards and staff reportedly concealed their identities behind balaclavas and medical masks. Even the place of the facility was hidden from detainees. The goal, according to survivor accounts, was to strip POWs of identity and autonomy, reducing them to a state of helplessness under constant threat.

Reports of abuse at IK-10 go back to 2012–2014, but the colony’s role expanded after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

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33 names, ranks, and faces behind the brutality

The list published by InformNapalm identifies a wide range of staff. At the top is Sergei Zabaiykin, who served as head of IK-10 from 2022 until March 2024 and is now deputy head of the FSIN directorate in Mordovia. FSIN is Russia’s federal authority for the prisons and detention of suspects and convicts. Inform Napalm cites a Russian publication describing Zabaikin as “a thieving head of the colony with a ‘beastly’ attitude toward inmates.”

His successor, Aleksandr Gnutov, served as deputy chief, then acting chief, and became official colony head in July 2024.

Other high-ranking figures named include multiple deputy heads: Aleksandr Pavlushkin, Aleksei Anashkin, Yegor Averkin, and Sergei Muymarov. InformNapalm says these individuals oversaw the daily operations during the peak periods of reported violence.

Medical personnel also figure prominently in the report. Field medic Ilya Sorokin—known by the nickname “Doctor Evil”—was named as a central figure. “Schemes” reported that Sorokin left his post at the end of 2024 and joined the Russian Defense Ministry, now operating under the call sign “Doctor” in military supply units. InformNapalm says he remains in contact with his former colleagues and continues to receive medical supplies for use in Russia’s war effort.

Chief physician Galina Mokshanova, her deputy Aleksandr Levin, and multiple other medics and nurses are named as having supported or enabled torture through medical neglect or complicity.

Not just jailers: engineers, psychologists, and guards

InformNapalm’s list includes more than command and medical staff. It also names psychologists, engineers, and guards believed to have played roles in the abuse. Senior psychologist Alesia Avdonina, for example, is described as a captain of internal service and also a part-time nail technician, showing the stark dissonance between professional responsibilities and daily online life.

Others identified include engineer Konstantin Anchin, psychologist Olga Khremkina, and senior inspector Anna Shcherbakova. InformNapalm notes that several individuals had no social media presence, while others shared openly under their real names.

Russia reacts with panic and suppression

Following the initial broadcast of “Schemes” in July, InformNapalm says insider sources reported increased activity from the Russian Investigative Committee and FSB. These agencies allegedly warned IK-10 staff about harsher penalties for information leaks and tried to prevent future exposures.

InformNapalm interprets this response as a sign that Russian authorities fear accountability. The group emphasized that “no mask will protect you” and called the release a first step toward identifying all individuals involved in war crimes inside Russia’s penitentiary system.

“Every new fact strengthens the chain of responsibility”

InformNapalm stresses that the publication of these 33 names is not the conclusion, but the beginning. The group is now encouraging anyone with further knowledge—especially former inmates or staff—to come forward with verified information.

The group seeks specific details: names or nicknames, job roles, periods of employment, specific incidents of abuse, supporting media, and contact information. All information will be carefully verified and sources anonymized when necessary.

InformNapalm warns against directly contacting any of the named individuals and urges caution for those living in temporarily occupied territories. Safe devices, VPNs, and page archiving are strongly recommended when submitting tips.

“This publication is not the final point,” the report concludes. “It’s the foundation for further documentation. Every confirmation is a contribution to truth and justice.”

As European leaders prepare for a summit on 4 September in Paris, their approaches to security guarantees for postwar Ukraine remain divided into three distinct groups, the Financial Times reports. While a small group of countries, including the UK, are ready to deploy troops, Italy has ruled out participation entirely, and a larger group—among them Germany—have yet to make any firm commitments.

Europe split into three camps on postwar Ukraine

The planned multinational force for Ukraine is at the center of ongoing negotiations over long-term security guarantees. The initiative is being pushed by France and the UK, with the US offering limited but targeted support. According to FT, European capitals are under increasing pressure to clarify what each country is willing to contribute.

French President Emmanuel Macron will host the summit, with some leaders joining in person and others remotely. The talks follow a preparatory meeting on 3 September involving defense officials. UK Defense Secretary John Healey co-chaired the call, where he stated that Britain was “reviewing readiness levels of UK Armed Forces and accelerating funding to be ready for any deployment to Ukraine,” according to the UK Ministry of Defense.

An official from the Élysée Palace told FT that technical preparations for the coalition’s contribution had been completed by those countries “willing and able” to offer security guarantees. “Today we have enough contributions to be able to tell the Americans that we are ready to assume our responsibilities, provided that they assume theirs,” the official said.

US President Donald Trump has told European leaders that Washington would offer intelligence, command and control systems, and help in establishing an air defense shield, but insisted that the European side must lead the effort.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on 3 September that he expected “concrete proposals” to be delivered either that day or soon after. He added that further steps would include intensified coordination with the US regarding its participation in the broader effort.

Germany’s position remains unclear. Officials in Berlin reportedly reacted negatively to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s comments to FT that member states were working on “pretty precise plans” for potential deployments to Ukraine, including a “clear road map.”

“Do not repeat the mistakes of World War II.” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has called on international allies to act decisively and resist Russian aggression.

Remembering the lessons of history

Sybiha recalled that on 1 September 1939, Hitler attacked Poland, soon joined by Stalin, initiating the bloodiest war in history.

“Today it is extremely important to remember what led to that day: weakness and naive faith that territorial concessions would ‘appease’ the aggressor,” the Ukrainian foreign minister noted.

Responsibility for the World War II disaster

The minister emphasized that the Nazi Third Reich bears full responsibility for the war, but there were also those who “allowed this evil to grow stronger—avoiding difficult decisions and favoring weakness over strength.”

According to Sybiha, the best way to honor the memory of tens of millions of victims is not to repeat the same mistakes today.

Allies’ unity and support for Ukraine

Sybiga stressed that the unity of allies, pressure on the Russian aggressor, and consistent support for Ukraine are critically important for Europe’s security and long-term peace.

“Strength and determination today are the guarantee of future security and peace in Europe,” he added.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump proposed that Ukraine consider territorial concessions to Russia as part of ending the war. His proposal involved Ukraine relinquishing control over Donetsk Oblast to Russia, in exchange for Russia agreeing to freeze the front lines and halt further advances. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy firmly rejected any proposal to cede Ukrainian land to Russia. He emphasized Ukraine’s sovereignty and constitutional prohibition on surrendering territory to the occupier.