Captured

Stories

Invisible to the Geneva Conventions: Why It Is So Difficult for Ukraine to Bring Civilian Captives Home

“They told my mother that I am an enemy of the people,” – the story of the head of the Dvorichanska community, who spent nearly three months in captivity

“We’ll Cut Your Head Off”: How Russians Tortured a Ukrainian Journalist During the Occupation of the Kherson Region

"I Was in the Hell of Olenivka": A POW Who Survived the Olenivka Attack Reveals New Details

Russian Occupiers Sentenced Azov Fighter Roman Kharchenko to 13 Years. His Sons Go to Sleep Every Night with a “Daddy” Doll.

Heroes of Kharkiv: Halyna Turbaba

"They Made Me Stand Back-to-Back with Mykyta. A Soldier Cocked His Rifle and Said He Was About to Shoot Him."

Unbreakable: the story of a Kharkiv woman who, at 70, ended up in a Russian occupation basement prison

“Maxim Is 20: Four Concussions, Injuries, Azovstal, Captivity.” The Story of a Family Whose Three Sons Took Up the Defense of Ukraine

Freed POW Alla Senchenko from Lutsk on Her Experience, Survival, and Ukraine's Future Victory

In Russia, Former Azov Fighter Yaroslav Zhdamarov Is on Trial. He Was Detained as a Civilian in Mariupol.

Russia's Secret Prison: Around 650 Ukrainians Are Being Held at Pretrial Detention Center No. 2 in Russia's Bryansk Region

“Now I will live for two”: the love story of Valeriia and Andrii, who married in a bunker at Azovstal

I've Spent a Year Fighting for My Beloved's Return from Captivity. We Saved Lives in Volnovakha and at Azovstal

The first exchange of women: what happened to Ukrainian servicewomen in Russian captivity.

“Russians Asked What ‘Nava’ Means — I Told Them It Meant Nothing Good for Them.” Valeriia Subotina on Captivity, Azovstal, Her Hometown of Mariupol, Her Killed Husband, and Victory.

12-Year-Old Sasha on Being Wounded, Captivity in Donetsk, the Illich Steel Plant, and Separation from His Mother

Mykhailo Khvostyk and Petro Tsarevskyi Arrested in the “LPR/DPR.” Russian Occupiers Accuse Them of Terrorism.

Nothing Was Sacred: How Russian Forces Abducted Ukrainian Greek Catholic Priests Ivan Levytskyi and Bohdan Heleta in Berdiansk

“There, on the little star – Kyrylo”: a mother’s story of surviving captivity and losing her soldier son

Olha Naiman Dreams of Introducing Her Beloved to Their Son. Andrii, a Military Medic, Has Spent More Than 500 Days in Captivity

A Marine from Zmiinyi: captivity, interrogations about the “Russian warship,” and Bandera

“The Colony Commander Said: ‘Forget All Agreements on Leaving Azovstal.’” How Kyiv Resident Volodymyr Nesmachnyi Flew into Besieged Mariupol and Spent 400 Days in Captivity.

"We Were Held by Beasts, Not Humans": The Story of Military Medic Yurii Armash, Who Returned from Russian Captivity

Iryna Navalna Arrested in Mariupol. She Is Accused of Attempting a Terrorist Attack During the “Referendum.”

"For a Year and a Half, We've Believed We'll Find Him": An Interview with the Family of a Missing Volunteer

“They don’t consider you a human being”: stories of women who survived Russian captivity.

“Not forgetting is not enough. I ask you to speak”: a wife’s story of an Azov fighter who survived the Olenivka attack.

"While in Captivity, I Hoped People Were Talking About Me": Nava Urges the Public to Fight for the Release of Ukraine's Defenders

“I Cannot Do Otherwise”: the Life of a Ukrainian Soldier Before His Execution in Captivity

Two Penal Colonies in Nine Months, a Pack of Cigarettes for $100: The Story of 20-Year-Old National Guard Conscript Danylo Chebotariov’s Captivity

The Story of a Woman from Kamianka-Dniprovska Who Spent Seven Months in Russian Captivity

“Azov Fighter” with a Defiant Look Spent 19 Months in Captivity. Russians Sentenced Hennadii Kharchenko to 25 Years.

A Month with a Bag Over His Head and Life in Detention: Mariupol Director Anatolii Levchenko Tells His Story

“I sometimes think of Oleksiy, ill and captive. Hope lingers, faint but alive.” — Remembering the Azov Soldiers Lost in Olenivka

"My Son Has Been Given a Life Sentence." The Self-Proclaimed "DPR" Sentenced Captured Azov Fighter Maksym Kondrashev to Life Imprisonment

“Vira”: A Schemes Investigative Documentary in Memory of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Journalist Vira Hyrych

“In the Helicopter to Azovstal, I Was Afraid of One Thing: Throwing Up on the Guys Next to Me.” Nurse Nadiia Yarish on the Siege of Mariupol, Captivity, Service After Captivity, and Her Hopes for Victory.

Defender of Mariupol and Witness to the Olenivka Massacre: An Interview with an Azov Officer

My “Azov Fighter” Son Was Sentenced to a Quarter Century by Russia. The Story of Volunteer Svitlana Bohdan’s Family.

A Year in Captivity: How Russia Alternately Confirms and Denies Holding Ihor Steblevskyi

"Azov" and "Azovstal, captivity, Olenivka, torture in a detention center, the exchange, and the first tiramisu in freedom — Svitlana Vorova (call sign ‘Hrazia’) speaks in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda about 11 months of Russian captivity.

"The Lesson I Paid For": Mykhailo Vershynin on War and Captivity

88 Days in Russian Captivity: How Volunteer Ihor Talalai Ended Up in a Russian Torture Chamber

The “Hollywood Story” of Marine Mykhailo Rotar: From Mariupol Through Captivity, Torture, and Two Terrorist Attacks Back to the Ukrainian Armed Forces

Maryana Mamonova on Azovmash, Pregnancy in Captivity, and Interrogations by Russian Soldiers

“Will You Wait for Me to Come Home from the War?” Sergeants Uren and Chumak Defended Mariupol and Have Been in Captivity for More Than 550 Days.

The Trial of Separation: The Story of Kateryna Skopina, Who Survived Captivity

We were given three books. One of them always had to be written by Lenin”: Azov fighter Yaroslav on Mariupol, captivity, and freedom

Stolen Future. Why Is Russia Taking Our Children?

Returned After Deportation and Wants to Help Rescue Ukrainian Children Taken to Russia: The Story of Bohdan Yermokhin

“Khmyryi” Fights for Our Independence and for His Son’s Release from Captivity. He Was Wounded in Olenivka.

After the Interrogations, I Spent Another Week Sitting in a Basement, Freezing, Starving, and Losing My Mind: The Story of a Preschool Teacher from Kherson

His legs are blue, and he walks with a limp. “Azov” fighter “Akatsiya” is spending his second birthday in Russian captivity.

We Managed to Bring Our Children Back from Russian Captivity: Three Parents Share Their Stories