Ukrainian soldier's harrowing tale reveals Russian brutality
Vladyslav Zadorin, a 25-year-old soldier in the Ukrainian Marine Corps who defended Snake Island in 2022, shares the inhuman torture he endured during nearly two years of Russian captivity. He tells his story so the world can understand the plight of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
At a meeting with journalists in Warsaw, Zadorin recounted arriving on Snake Island at the beginning of January 2022. He had previously participated in battles in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. On 24th February, unaware of the full-scale invasion beginning, he and other soldiers watched as Russian ships shelled the island. After a heroic fight, with dwindling ammunition and faced with the enemy's advantage, they were captured along with 80 others.
— By evening, we were prisoners. In Ukraine, it was believed that we had all died — he recounted. For 679 days, he suffered unimaginable physical and psychological torture.
One of the most harrowing experiences was when prisoners were forced into industrial dryers where they were heated. Many did not survive these tortures. — Before being captured, I weighed 19 stone, and after I was released — just 9 stone — Zadorin said.
This is how the Russians treated Ukrainian prisoners
The living conditions were inhumane. Prisoners were forced to eat mouldy bread, and in desperation caught mice or ate toilet paper. The Russians used propaganda, making them read falsified versions of Ukrainian literature, depicting Cossacks as Russian soldiers.
The guards attempted to extract confessions about alleged ties to NATO. Through staged executions and torture, they sought to prove the captured soldiers were not Ukrainians but citizens of Western countries. — In prisons like Kursk, Taganrog, or Rostov-on-Don, prisoners were not only tortured — he recounted.
Despite the inhumane treatment, Zadorin did not lose faith in humanity. He fondly remembers Russian prisoners who gave him a pack of biscuits as a small gesture of support. After three months of rehabilitation in Ukraine and Lithuania, he now shares his experiences to draw attention to the plight of Ukrainian prisoners and the brutality of the Russian regime.
