“The Russians did everything to destroy us from a psychological point of view, but they didn’t succeed,” two Ukrainian soldiers from the “Azov” regiment told the Spanish agency EFE, who spoke about their experience of being in Russian captivity for almost a year. in which there are 700 of their comrades in arms from Mariupol, reports Agerpres.

“It’s hard for a civilized person to imagine that something like this could happen in the 21st century,” says 27-year-old Svyatoslav Syriy, known by the nickname “Brave”.

The only comparison that the Ukrainian gunner can evoke is the experience of those who survived the Nazi concentration camps of the Second World War or the repressions of the Soviet era.

“I read a book written by a Jewish prisoner in one of these camps, and it seemed to me that, apart from some obvious differences, many of the methods of physical and psychological abuse were strikingly similar,” he said.

Syriy was captured after being ordered to leave the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol with 2,500 other Ukrainian soldiers, ending a nearly three-month siege of this southeastern Ukrainian coastal city, a port on the Sea of ​​Azov. region.

Both he and Valery Petrenko, known under the pseudonym “Teivaz”, expected to spend several months in captivity, after which the exchange of prisoners was to take place.

However, they survived “cruel captivity, complete isolation and torture” first in the Olenivskyi camp, and then in the pre-trial detention center in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region, where they did not see the light of the sun for months.

They returned home only a year later, during one of the sporadic exchanges of prisoners.

“Hungry, cold, thirsty. Beatings and psychological pressure. They did everything to destroy our morale,” recalls Siry.

Their jailers liked to beat malnourished prisoners during interrogations, but not only then. Sirii recalls that upon arrival he had to crawl down the corridor, among rows of guards who beat him.

“They wanted to find someone to blame for what they did to the city (Mariupol). I saw how the Russians demolished large residential buildings with their tanks, and there were people in them,” says Petrenko.

“The cat eats more than we were given”

Two were wounded during the blockade of the Azovstal metallurgical plant, but they were not given medical aid during their captivity.

“In the neighboring cell, a seriously ill man fell on the floor, other prisoners called the security, but to no avail. Later, they came to collect the body and said: he was lucky, everything is over for him, but you will be here for a long time,” Petrenko recalls.

In captivity, Petrenko lost weight by 30 kilograms, and Siry – by 16 kilograms. “The cat eats more than we were given. I ate about 800 calories a day, mostly bread,” he recalls.

Both say the support of their fellow soldiers was crucial to their mental health. “We had the same desires and ideas, and the Azovstal experience brought us even closer,” says Siry.

“When we returned to Ukraine, we felt that we were extremely appreciated”

Their tormentors tried to make them feel that they didn’t matter to anyone and that they were forgotten after the government used them as cannon fodder.

“What happened after our return confirmed that nothing was true,” Siri said.

They spoke with the EFE agency in a cafe in the center of Lviv (western Ukraine). And as soon as the waiter realized that it was the military, he said that there was no need to pay.

“From the first minute when we returned to Ukraine, we felt that we were extremely valued. It helped us start to forget everything we experienced in captivity,” Siri explains.

Petrenko adds that the Azov regiment took care of all the needs of his family and, for example, paid for the operation of his son, who was born a few months before the Russian invasion.

“If Russia does not win, it will not stop at Ukraine”

After completing rehabilitation, they plan to return to the front so that their children “don’t go through the same thing.”

Abroad, the war may appear to be only a conflict between Ukraine and Russia, but in reality it is a clash “between Russia and the civilized world,” emphasizes Siry, who also says that unless the whole world helps stop it, Russian aggression will continue to spread like a cancer.

“I hope with all my heart that they will understand this before Russian rockets start exploding in their cities. Because Russia will not stop at Ukraine if it is not defeated,” he warns.

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