Captured

Stories

‘Doctor Evil.’ The doctor who tortured Ukrainian prisoners of war in one of the most secretive colonies in Mordovia (investigation)

"I Begged the Russians to Kill Me": The Story of a Servicewoman Who Survived Russian Captivity

“They burned out tattoos with the names of children”: a naval serviceman on 39 months in Russian captivity

A Bag Over Her Head — and Into the Car: How the Russians Kidnapped Kherson Student Ania Yeltsova and Forced Her to Testify Against Herself

"There Was a Lot of Abuse": A Former POW on What He Endured in Russian Captivity

He calls torture a ‘spectrum of procedures’ and prison a ‘sanatorium.’ The story of a Kherson man who created the first male network of ‘graduates’ of torture chambers

“He Stood Firm and Defended His Rights”: Azov POW Who Refused to Admit He Was a Terrorist in a Russian Court Disappeared After the Verdict

The Marines Who Defended Mariupol Have Been Behind Bars for 1,000 Days. Their Families Continue the Fight for Their Freedom

Forced confessions, sentenced to life in Russia, and released from captivity: the story of an Azov fighter

"I Couldn't Endure the Final 12-Hour Interrogation While I Was Bedridden": The Story of Azov Fighter Rasti

Between Torture and Prayer: The Three-Year Captivity of Azovstal’s Only Chaplain

What Happened to Viktoriia Roshchyna: The Journalist's Torture, Captivity, and Death

“I Was a ‘Dead Ukrainian’ for the Russians: The Life of a 64-Year-Old Doctor, Antique Dealer, and Partisan from Donetsk, Held Captive for Seven Years.”

“I died in that torture chamber”: the story of a Kherson resident

He Saw His Beloved One Last Time Before Dying from Torture: The Story of Former POW Valerii Zelenskyi

"He died because he was bleeding out”: Russians tortured a 59-year-old serviceman in captivity and tried to hide the cause of death

Mom, They’re Here for Me: The Story of Kherson Volunteer Iryna Horobtsova, Whom the Occupiers Have Held Hostage for More Than Two Years

Abducted at a Passport Office: The FSB Held a Melitopol Resident in Detention for More Than Eight Months

“You cannot give up territory hoping that it will be the end of the war,” said pediatric doctor and Kremlin prisoner Yurii Shapovalov

From Maternity Leave to “Terrorist”: How a Russian Court Convicted Aidar Servicewoman Viktoriia Tkachenko for Serving in the Battalion

Mariupol Resident Dmytro Katsy Has Spent 1,000 Days in Russian Captivity. His Family Still Doesn't Know Where He Is Being Held

Neighbors reported them. 280 days of family captivity: abuse and blackmail

Captured at 19: The Story of Hlib Shumyl, Who Spent Three Years in Russian Torture Chambers

‘If You Don’t Tell Me Everything, I’ll Rape Your Sister-in-Arms’: Marine on Brutal Torture of Women in Russian Prisons

Archipelago of Torture, or How Russians Abuse Ukrainian Prisoners. Testimonies

"They Shocked Me Near My Heart": An "Edelweiss" Fighter on More Than Two Years in Russian Captivity

“Forced them to perform oral sex”: Russian perpetrators who abused prisoners have been identified

Some People Panicked. I Kept Thinking, ‘God, It’s Too Soon.’: The Story of Kherson Resident Ihor Kovtoniuk, Who Survived Torture in Captivity

Former ATO Soldier Andrii Harasymenko Returns Home After Three and a Half Years in Russian Captivity

“Captivity is a minor thing — the worst was watching Mariupol die”: the story of Azovstal defender Hennadii Zbandut

“Questions Like ‘Whose Crimea Is It?’ Were All I Heard for Ten Years.” Former Political Prisoner Andrii Kolomiiets on the Maidan, a Russian Prison, and the Basement at the Dariali Border Checkpoint

"If You Keep Looking, You'll End Up Like Him." Russian Occupiers Have Held Vitalii Hamanets Captive for Three Years — This Is His Story

The story of a teacher rescued from captivity in the occupied territory by the Main Intelligence Directorate: '20 years in prison or the death penalty'

Freed POW Volodymyr Trush on Execution Threats, Betrayal in Captivity, and His Determination to Keep Fighting

Vika’s Last Assignment: What Happened to Ukrainian Journalist in Russian Captivity?

Women Released from Captivity Speak Frankly About the Violence They Endured: Four Stories

While I Was in Captivity, All I Wanted Was to Fall Asleep and Never Wake Up

“Mom, thank you for saving Dad”: the story of a marine’s family who now believe in a New Year’s miracle

Historian, You Bastard. Refuse, and I’ll Kill You: How Kherson Resident Oleksii Patalakh Survived a Torture Chamber and Outsmarted the FSB

Russians Abducted a Children's Sports Coach from Kyiv Region and Are Torturing Him in a Penal Colony

Released from captivity, Maksym Butkevych: “I saw what the ‘Russian world’ is like from the inside… It’s a real Mordor in terms of values and freedom.”

“Someone Like You Doesn’t Need a Lawyer.” Former Aidar POW Maryna Mishchenko on Olenivka, the Donetsk Pretrial Detention Center, and a Russian Court

"Don't Forget About Us." Azov Fighter "Leks," Sentenced to 22 Years, Addresses Ukrainians from Captivity

The horrors of Russian captivity: the story of Snake Island defender Vladyslav Zadorin

Captivity, Torture, and the Birth of His Son: The Story of Snake Island Defender Oleksandr Kurtiev

“People Were Beaten with Tasers”: Who Is Torturing Azov Fighters in Captivity

Russian Captivity, Combat Missions, and the Death of His Wife: The Story of Former POW ‘Khamzat’

"I Can't Feel Joy the Way I Used To": A Vinnytsia Native on Three Years in Russian Captivity and Life After Returning

“Kh*khly, we’re already tired of beating you.” Azov fighter ‘Yuzhnyi’ on two years of torture in Taganrog, prisoners’ humor, and his own survival system.

“He Dreams of Writing a Book. I Dream of Hugging Him”: The Story of Kherson Journalist and Volunteer Serhii Tsyhipa, Who Was Sentenced to 13 Years in Russia

AFTER CAPTIVITY | Rehabilitation and Returning to Military Service

ATO, “Azov,” 11.5 months in captivity, and a return to service: the story of combat medic from Uzhhorod, Halyna Zaitseva

“Antarctica’s Political Prisoner.” The Case of Crimean Ukrainian Biologist Leonid Pshenichnov, Detained by the FSB for Opposing Large-Scale Krill Fishing

Freedom of speech in the occupied territories: repression and new mechanisms of pressure in 2025

Sviatoslav “Kalyna” Palamar on the Pokrovsk direction, the siege and exit from Azovstal, Olenivka, Lefortovo, and his time in Turkey

20 Months in Russian Captivity: The Story of Mariupol Defender Oleksandr "Demon"

“I’m walking, blood flooding my boots”: how an Azov fighter survived captivity three times

30 Months in Russian Captivity: War, Torture, a Blog, and a Book About Prisoner Life. The Story of a Former POW

"There Were Beatings, Electric Torture, Strangulation, and Starvation": How a Chernihiv Resident Is Adapting After Russian Captivity

“Relatives said: people like you should be wiped out.” The story of a woman who survived torture chambers and escaped twice from occupied Mariupol

“We Stayed So the Russians Wouldn’t Feel Like They Owned This Place”: How Teacher Olha Melnychenko Survived the Occupation of Kherson, Captivity, and Refused to Be Broken

Project "Victoria": The Story of the Captivity and Torture Endured by Journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna and Thousands of Ukrainians Imprisoned by Russia

Released from captivity, Uzhhorod resident Robert Baloh: “In the cell, I set myself one goal — to preserve myself as much as possible.”

“He Hoped Ukraine Would Bring Him Home.” Family of Kremlin Prisoner Hennadii Lymeshko Says a Russian Court Has Sentenced Him to Another Prison Term

Izium, a hand with bracelets, Serhii Sova. The story of one photo and the life of a Hero of Ukraine executed by the Russians

Returned to Service Five Days After Being Released from Captivity

“They came again and beat my leg”: a 23-year-old azov fighter on more than three years in russian captivity

Transfer to prison instead of prisoner exchange: civilian captives from occupied Luhansk are being taken to Russia

Former Russian POW Petro Nedokhodiuk on Memory Loss, Punishment for Prayer, and the Hardest Day of His Captivity

“I dream of living to see my grandson’s exchange.” The story of an Azov fighter’s family who have been waiting for him to return from captivity for three years

“You Believe in Your Jesus, But Did He Save You?”: How Russians Abused Ukrainian Priest Serhii Chudynovych in Occupied Kherson

Two Years Ago, Our Loved Ones Went Missing in Luhansk Region: The Stories of Assault Troopers from the 95th Brigade

Crimean resident Bohdan Ziza: “Write to political prisoners — it’s absolutely vital!”

“They Pulled Out a Gun and Said, ‘There Will Be No Lawyer.’” A Monologue by Leniie Umerova on Her Abduction and Unlawful Imprisonment in Russia

Stanislav Aseiev: The fear of being captured again is greater for me than being killed in war

I Want to Give Other Veterans Hope That There Is Life After Captivity

“His back is covered with scars, they beat him to death,” — a border guard captured by a Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group.

Dreams of returning to a liberated Mariupol: Kira Obedinska on being wounded, deportation to the DNR, and the 'Future of Ukraine' award

Beatings, Psychiatric Abuse, and Electric Shocks to the Genitals: Three Years of Captivity for Marine Valentyn Polianskyi

“Stripping, rape, and ‘entertainment’ in the sauna: a conversation with a human rights defender about sexual violence and the path to punishing Russians

“Someone Must Always Be There to Help Her”: Russia Continues to Imprison Seriously Ill Aidar Veteran Kateryna Kuzmenko

“You’ve got partisans on your hands.” How a Crimean resident challenged Russia

"I Can't Cry": An Interview with Liudmyla Huseinova, Who Spent More Than Three Years in Russian Captivity

"The guys were burning, screaming, someone was torn in half." the Olenivka terror attack and life after it in the memories of azov fighters

Matvii Has Never Seen His Father, but He Is Waiting for Him. Mariupol Defender Vlad Fedosieiev Has Been in Captivity for Three Years