Castrations, mutilations, systematic sadism - the scale of brutality against Ukrainians who fell into Russian captivity is horrifying. Many of them return unrecognizable. "Before he looked like an eagle, but he returned with his eyes gone."
"Glory to Russia" - these words are burned into the stomach of Andriy Pereverzev. "Russian doctors must have done it," he thinks. "They were just bandaging me. I raised my head and looked. I was completely shocked. But what could I do? "At least I was alive," the man told the German public broadcaster ARD.
In February 2024, 33-year-old Andriy was wounded in the fighting in Donbas and captured by Russian soldiers. He says the torture began immediately. "My hands were tied, my eyes were covered. Then they said: This is because of our guys. They hit me three times in the face with a five-liter bottle of water. I immediately lost consciousness."
According to Bogdan Okhrimenko from the Ukrainian Coordination Center for Prisoners of War, almost all those who have returned bear visible traces of systematic violence: broken ribs, burns, electric shock scars, severe mental trauma.
Many of the prisoners are victims of systemic sadism, ARD also writes. According to testimonies of prisoners of war in the so-called In the bathrooms, they could only bathe with ice-cold or boiling water - and under constant blows. These testimonies are documented - Ukrainian investigators, the Prosecutor General's Office and representatives of the International Criminal Court are collecting evidence.
When the last name becomes a curse
Valery Zelensky was also in Russian captivity. He was also tortured. But he can no longer talk about his experiences - just four weeks after his release in an exchange in May 2024, he died from his wounds and the torture he was subjected to.
His daughter Valeria does not want to be forgotten and therefore tells ARD about her father's experiences. "He was aware of the meaning of his last name - the same as our president's. The treatment of all those with the surname Zelensky who were at the front and clashed with the Russians was particularly brutal."
Valery's capture was captured on video - he was knocked to the ground, and Russian soldiers insulted him, mocked his last name, and threatened him.
After his capture, Valery was constantly humiliated and tortured in a Russian prison, his daughter says. "The scariest thing for me was his look when he returned. Before that, he radiated self-confidence and strength - he looked like an eagle. And he returned with empty, dead eyes."
Immeasurable scale of torture
Interrogations with electric shocks, waterboarding, castrations, mutilations, murders: the information about the scale and brutality of violence against Ukrainian prisoners of war is horrifying.
Bogdan Okhrimenko from the Coordination Center for Prisoners of War quoted the so-called Istanbul Protocol to ARD, which lists 18 types of torture. But the Russian Federation has gone even further, says Okhrimenko. "It combines these 18 types and thus applies even more methods of torturing our citizens."
Ukrainian investigators and representatives of international organizations are trying to collect as much information as possible from victims and eyewitnesses in order to punish war crimes. As a result of its own research, the UN has concluded that torture of Ukrainian prisoners is widespread and systematic. Many of those who have returned also talk about massive sexual violence. According to Okhrimenko, at least 359 Ukrainians have died in Russian captivity. "They were tortured, starved and did not receive any medical care", he says.
Civilian Ukrainians are also captured
However, not all Ukrainian prisoners are soldiers, ARD points out, and reports that there are many reports of ordinary Ukrainians being captured. Olena Belyakhkova from the non-governmental organization Media Initiative for Human Rights speaks of about 2,000 proven cases of captured Ukrainian civilians who have been identified and located. However, it is believed that the real number of those captured reaches 16,000.
"They torture soldiers and civilians with equal cruelty. We also have a case where a civilian citizen unfortunately did not survive the torture in captivity. Moreover, he was neither a soldier nor an activist", shares the human rights activist.
The difficult return to life
In the most difficult moments, there was only one thought that saved Andriy Pereverzev: "This was the promise I had made to my daughter - that I would return home. Thanks to this, I survived - it gave me hope".
Andriy still has many life-saving surgeries to go through before he can permanently leave the hospital and go home. That won't happen for another year at the earliest, and until then, his main support is walking with his 9-year-old daughter.
Psychological healing is at least as difficult. And the scars - visible and invisible - will remain for life.