#Azovstal defenders

[anastasiamaru]

🥳 Welcome Home 🥳

🥹The commanding officers who defended Mariupol in Ukraine now

Glory to the Heroes of Ukraine

[dontforgetukraine]

Last week, rallies in support of the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war from Russian captivity took place both in #Ukraine and abroad. Ukrainian defenders must return home. Russia must be held accountable for cruel & inhumane treatment of Ukrainian POWs. #FreeUkrainianDefenders —MFA of Ukraine

[panimoonchild]

“I tried to explain that I was a musician but it didn’t work. You say you are a musician and it irritates them so much they beat you more, and accuse you of lying,” said Merkotan

While international organizations inspect and have access to our prisons where Russian prisoners are held, they turn a blind eye and do not fight for proper conditions for Ukrainian prisoners.

Another thing that outrages me is the way "Putin's prison" is used. It was not Putin who tortured him and others, but russians. This is not Putin's war, but Russia's. These are not the decisions and crimes of one person. After 10 years of war, the Russians are still being singled out and absolved of responsibility. That's impossible levels of stupidity and cowardice.

[alcestas-sloboda]

Five Ukrainian military leaders, including commander of "Azov" Denys Prokopenko, his deputy Svyatoslav Palamar, commander of the 36th separate brigade of marines Serhii Volynskyi, the senior officer of "Azov" Oleh Khomenko and commander of the 12th brigade of the National Guard Denys Shleha returned home from Türkiye on a flight with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

[everything-changed-me]

I dont think anything related to politics and current state of the world has ever enraged and disgusted me more than seeing pro-palestine/marxists/communists/leftist supporters be this extremely hypocritical and evil when it comes to Ukraine. Not only that entire breakout of russian invasion of Ukraine was followed by "what about Palestine/Syria/Afghanistan/Iraq" comments on every video/photo of a destroyed Ukrainian home but also even after more than 2 years of russian invasion and what experts call most brutal war since WW2, this same group of people is constantly minimizing and relativizing tragedy and injustice to Ukraine by lowering number of civilian casualities, holding dearly onto chunks of russian propaganda that have already been debunked countless times, taking announcements of Ukrainian officials out of context or simply excusing oppression of Ukrainians by something unrelated (like supposed support of Ukraine for Israel???). All that while screaming about "double standards" or "Western hypocrisy". Why are Ukrainians who support Israel called out more frequently and harshly than Palestinians who support Russia? What makes Palestine, Congo, Sudan, Syria etc more deserving of sympathy and support than Ukraine? Why are Azovstal defenders called nazis while Hamas is praised as freedom fighters? Why is russian oppression of Ukrainians and erasion of Ukrainian identity that lasted for centuries overlooked? I seriously dont understand psychology behind such reasoning.

[folklorespring]

2 years since Mariupol defenders started to leave Azovstal in Mariupol and were captured by russians. Around 2000 Mariupol defenders are still in russian captivity.

Photo from Azovstal by Dmytro "Orest" Kozatskyi

[lethendralis-paints]

Не забуваймо тих, хто знаходиться в російському полоні. Цей скетч за донат від пані, яка чекає на звільнення свого чоловіка. Публікую з її дозволу.

Дякую, що довірили мені намалювати портрет цієї чудової людини - най повернеться додому живий і неушкоджений!

t's been over 19 months since Mariupol and Azovstal defenders have been taken prisoner by russia and are being held in inhumane conditions. Do not forget advocating for their release! This sketch request was for one of the Mariupol defender's wife who is still waiting for his release and return home

[thelittleukrainianwell-armedgirl]

Come back to me (c) @ Bela.aster

@ Bela.aster :

"An unreal path that not everyone can endure, not everyone has gone to the end.

But we believe in the resilience of our relatives. Our brave soldiers still remain in the hands of the enemy.

We will fight for them, as they fought for us, without feeling sorry for ourselves.

We will remind and shout for them so that everyone understands how much it hurts us without them.

Until all the prisoners of war return home.

Until they all set foot on their native land to hug their loved ones.

The struggle continues".

***

"I'm from Ukraine

My name is Hanna @ Bela.aster

I am the wife of a brave warrior who defended the city of Mariupol with his comrades. He was in Azovstal, and is currently in captivity.

I want to support the families of prisoners of war and raise this painful topic for us.

I want them to remember our heroes who are still in captivity."

*******************************

@ Bela.aster :

“Нереальний шлях, який не кожен може витримати, ще не всі пройшли до кінц��

Але ми віримо у стійкість наших рідних.

Наші мужні воїни і досі залишаються у лапах ворога

Ми будемо боротися за них, як вони боролися за нас, себе не жаліючи.

Ми будемо нагадувати і кричати за них, щоб всі розуміли наскільки нам боляче без них

До поки всі військовополонені не повернуться до дому.

До поки вони всі не ступлять на рідну землі, щоб обійняти своїх близьких

Боротьба триває”

*****

"Я з України🇺🇦

Звати мене Ганна @ Bela.aster

Я дружина мужнього воїна, який захищав зі своїми побратимами місто Маріуполь. Він був на Азовсталі, а наразі перебуває у полоні.

Я хочу підтримувати сім'ї військовополонених, та підіймати цю болючу для нас тему.

Хочу, щоб пам'ятали про наших героїв, які і досі у полоні."

[mariacallous]

The pictures are haunting. There are portraits of Ukrainian men and women who have spent months and years in Russian captivity: soldiers, civilians, paramedics and volunteers. All experienced torture and brutal treatment. Many carry physical scars from their time as inmates. They are among the prisoners of war swapped since 2014, when Vladimir Putin began his Ukraine invasion, with a covert takeover in the east.

In 2019, the Ukrainian photojournalist Zoya Shu began photographing those freed from Russian detention. Over five years, she spent time with former prisoners of war (PoWs) in their homes, talking to them about their life stories and listening to their harrowing accounts of beatings and other forms of daily abuse.

“They suffered. I see them not as victims but as survivors. What they experienced is horrendous,” she says.

Some of those she photographed have terrible wounds. In 2014, Russian “separatist” fighters carved a swastika on the back of a local man, Bogdan Sergiets, in the eastern city of Donetsk. They accused him of supporting Ukraine and being a “Nazi”. Another photo is a portrait of Aiden Aslin, a British volunteer captured in April 2022 while fighting for Ukraine. He and his fellow British prisoner Shaun Pinner, who were both threatened with execution, say they were beaten, stabbed with knives and electrocuted.

Other wounds are less conspicuous. Many prisoners, both men and women, said they were subjected to sexual violence and rape. In Russia and occupied areas of Ukraine, interrogators used a wind-up military field telephone to administer electric shocks, attaching crocodile clips to genitals and nipples.

“There is physical and psychological trauma,” says Shu. “It’s difficult to deal with, and profound. It takes a long time to heal.”

Another torture method is starvation. One former prisoner of war, Borys, said he lost 45kg (99lb) during two years in various camps: “I got very thin. When I was released I was so weak I couldn’t put my leg on to a step.”

Borys says a fellow inmate was so emaciated he became unable to walk and “went mad”, adding: “He couldn’t lift his arms. He stopped eating. They took him away. We don’t know what happened [to him].”

Borys says his captors hit him with plastic pipes and shocked him with stun guns. This was done in a corridor, where there were no CCTV cameras to record the abuse. One day, his guards said his situation would improve if he gave an interview to a Russian propaganda TV channel. They also tried to “re-educate” him.

“They loved to teach us about ‘history’ – we were ‘fascists’. They told us Ukraine was always a part of Russia and didn’t exist,” Borys says.

Other ex-prisoners said they were made to sing the Russian national anthem and recite patriotic poems and songs from Russia. “One goal is to destroy Ukrainian identity,” Shu says, adding that a soldier from western Ukraine who could not speak Russian received extra punishments.

“There is a pattern of constant and systemic violations [of human rights],” Shu says, calling this “state policy”.

Some former detainees have successfully rebuilt their lives. Others remain haunted by their experiences and suffer from depression and panic attacks. According to Kyiv’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 3,405 people have been returned from captivity, including 95 PoWs on 17 July. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians, military and civilians, are believed to remain in Russian jails.

The exact tally of PoWs is unknown. The figure includes about 1,500 soldiers captured in May 2022 when the garrison defending the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol surrendered. The Kremlin refuses to give a comprehensive list of the people it holds, adding to the agony of families whose loved ones went missing in action.

Shu is critical of international organisations that help detainees. In her view, they have failed to pressure the Kremlin to improve dire conditions for prisoners and to end widespread abuse.

“Where is the Red Cross? Where is the UN? Where is everybody?” she asks. “There doesn’t seem to be much activity or urgency. The level of brutality and torture in Russian prisons requires immediate action.”

[dontforgetukraine]

In memory of Veronika (Nika) Kozhushko, an 18 year old Ukrainian artist who was murdered by Russia in Kharkiv, let's admire her works of art she left behind in this world.

---

Art of Ukrainian soldiers Nika drew for volunteers.

Drawing depicting the recently bombed residential building, and ‘everything will end soon’.

Art inspired by song ‘Stefania’ by Kalush Orchestra she drew during Eurovision.

Ukrainian angel inspired by Pink Floyd and Azovstal defender. “Azovstal - place of my death and my life.”

‘It is impossible for a country with an "eagle" on its coat of arms to attack a country with the word "freedom" in the form of a fork.” - Nika Kozhushko

Her last drawing she sent to her friend just an hour before Russia’s attack.

Many thanks to @/eurovanya for compiling these.

[panimoonchild]

Fight for them as they fought for you

Mykyta Tatyanko "Zhyvchyk", a soldier of the 501st separate marine battalion, is still in captivity. He hit the front pages of all the world's media because he was simply helping the wounded during the shelling of the Mariupol maternity hospital. Because he just wanted to save someone.

In Mariupol, Zhyvchyk provided moral support to the locals. Ksenia, a resident of the city, met the soldier when a residential area was shelled. That day, March 12, her family was injured and slaughtered - her 16-year-old son and her sister's husband were killed instantly. "I was in a state of shock: I wanted to commit suicide because half of my family was killed in front of me, and the other half was not sure if they would survive," Ksenia said. The young defender helped the woman to keep her morale up. Mykyta convinced her that she shouldn't do anything to herself because many people around her needed help. "You are needed here, let's go help," Ksenia recalls. Ksenia told Mykyta's mother, Larysa, everything in detail, and told her that she had become the heroine of a movie about Mariupol. She also talked a lot about Mykyta in the movie, but she didn't give them any details. They are still in touch. Once she said: "Maybe you will be offended by me, but now Mykyta will be my adopted son." And Larysa was very happy about that, because now they both pray for him sincerely. Larysa was also contacted by one of the guys who was in the TRO and headed the security of the hospital in the city center. In a conversation with the soldier's mother, the defender said that in Mariupol, her son shared his food and medicine with the residents. Mykyta gave away almost everything he had.

❗In these pictures, he is 19 years old. At the age of 18, he voluntarily chose the path of the military, which even before the full-scale war, he was in the east part of Ukraine. Mykyta has been in captivity for almost 2 years, so he is now 21.

Please, share stories of our defenders in captivity. Many of them, including Mykyta have been there more than 2 years. You can only imagine what Russians do and tell them. Russians entertain themselves by breaking people, especially Ukrainians. They fiercely hate people who protect and fight for freedom. I hope our people find even more power in themselves to live through the hell of russian captivity. And when defenders all come back to their homeland, they will be themselves, in a healthy state like body and mind. There so many people are waiting for them. They deserve only good things after all of that.

The gorgeous Frank with important message in Kyiv.

[alcestas-sloboda]

Azov has been in captivity for 365 days.

[juuret]

Minor update on what's going on on the shitshow called eurovision:

-it's been confirmed that the ad campaign were organized (and paid for) by Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (it's in hebrew so i have to trust what people say tho)

-Ukraine got fined because of their "free azovstal defenders" shirts (refuted by suspilne, still leaving the link tho)

-avrtros is mighty pissed but we all knew that

[blueiscoool]

27-year-old Yulia Zubchenko was a paramedic.

She was killed in battle by the Russian Army while defending Azovstal.

Rest in Peace Yulia, Ukraine will never forget you're sacrifice.

🇺🇦

[pretordh]

Defender of Ukraine captured from Azovstal, in a Russian court.

Now Russia is actively organizing public courts.

[thelittleukrainianwell-armedgirl]

Free Azovstal defenders (c) @ dartsya_zironka