“Russia caused a lot of suffering to the Ukrainian people, and I don't know if Ukrainians will ever forgive the Russians“, Russian Irina Krynina tells DW. In Ukraine, she founded a project that helps Russian prisoners of war.
Irina Krynina left Russia in September 2023 with her two daughters. Her partner, Evgeny Kovtkov, who is not the biological father of her children, fought against Ukraine but was captured by Ukraine.
The woman booked a vacation in Turkey, from where she traveled to Moldova and from there to Kiev. She receives support from the organization “I Want to Live,” which is run by Ukrainian military intelligence. Her job is to help Russian soldiers who want to voluntarily surrender without being recognized. Krynina is the first partner of a Russian prisoner of war to come to Ukraine.
"I don't want my family to be responsible for this horror"
Krynina says that until 2022, she didn't know much about Ukraine, but she condemned the annexation of Crimea in 2014. It wasn't until her partner was sent to fight in the Donetsk region and was captured in June 2023 that she became interested in the war. "I started watching and reading everything. When I realized what was really happening, I didn't want to stay in Russia anymore," says Krynina. "I was absolutely disappointed with the Russian government. I understood who was attacking whom. I don't want my family and children to be held responsible for this horror. That's why I went to Ukraine to help.
In Ukraine, however, Krinina is disappointed. Her partner Evgeny is not happy when she visits him. He asks her why she has come. He is waiting for a prisoner exchange to be arranged so that he can return to Russia. Today, Irina Krinina is no longer with him. "I couldn't recognize him. He has changed - cold, withdrawn and scared. War and captivity change people a lot," she says.
A project for prisoners of war
In Ukraine, Krinina is starting her own project - "Our Way Out" - to help relatives of Russian prisoners of war contact them. Krinina visits the prisoners, talks to them, delivers parcels and enables them to make phone calls. This gives their relatives in Russia confirmation that they are in captivity - something that is difficult to prove in Russia. Krinina says that Russian recruitment centers secretly recommend that relatives of prisoners of war contact "Our Way".
The project's YouTube channel already has over 100,000 followers. Hundreds of interviews with prisoners of war can be watched on it. The men talk about the motivation behind signing a contract with the Russian army and how they were captured. Krinina claims that men who are released from Russian prisons to go to the front very often end up in captivity in Ukraine. "When they are captured, they say that they would rather have served their sentences," the woman explains.
The channel on the platform also features interviews with relatives of Russians who were re-sent to the front after being captured and then returned to Russia. Krinina advises those affected to contact journalists and lawyers. "If a prisoner of war does not fight for his rights, does not demand anything, then the state will send him back to war," she says. Although the Russians risk being sent back to the front, Krinina is fighting for their return. "Every Russian returned home means that a Ukrainian will also return home. The exchange must continue," the woman insists.
"It is very difficult for me to accept it"
Kiev says Krinina will also help Ukraine in the "information war against Russia." She wants to show the Russians what is really happening. That is why she travels to the places where Russian missiles have hit and shows videos from there. She believes it is having an effect: "A large number of relatives - probably 99% - want this to stop. Everyone is exhausted from the war, no one understands why it is still going on."
Krinina is convinced that her videos are one of the reasons why the project "Our Way" was designated a "foreign agent" by Moscow. When asked if she feels guilty about the crimes committed by Russians, she replies: "I don't understand at all why everyone is shooting. It is very difficult for me to accept it."
Krinina hopes that one day she will be able to return to "free Russia." She says that after the war started by Moscow, relations between Russians and Ukrainians will never be the same. "Russia caused a lot of suffering and hardship to the Ukrainian people. I think the Russians will feel guilty, but they will not be able to fix things. I don't know if the Ukrainians will forgive the Russians for what they did. "It will probably take generations before we can even think about peace," says Krinina.