Ukrainian defenders of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol are said to have lost weight and been victims of torture and psychological pressure after being taken prisoner by Russia. Some fighters’ wives expressed their despair after being unable to speak to their loved ones for nine months.
Anastasia Gondul said her husband Anton was one of the defenders of the Azov Valley who were forced to surrender to Russian forces in May after three months of one of the heaviest sieges since World War II. She hasn’t heard from him since he appeared on Russian state television in July after he was wounded in an attack that killed dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Mr. Gondul had already been seriously injured when part of a mine got stuck in his pool during the siege of a steel plant in the southeastern port city of Mariupol.
WITH I last spoke to her in May 2022, she turned 46, her husband is now 40, and their son Bogdan is eight.
“I don’t know where he was taken and I don’t know about his health and I am very concerned,” Ms Gondel said.
According to her, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered that her husband, a former geography teacher, be awarded a medal of merit.
But she said: “I don’t need medals, I want my husband back, because his son needs him … I need him.”
My heart is broken. my soul is bleeding out. My body is completely devoid of energy. And my brain whispers, “You must persevere. Your love and faith give strength to resist and fight the Russian beast.”
– A poem to a husband who lived to be 40 years old in Russian captivity
On the eve of the war anniversary on February 24, Ms. Gondul called on the world to commemorate the fierce battle at the steel plant.
Ms Gondul claimed that she called several organizations tasked with helping prisoners of war, but no one could tell her where or how her husband was. “The standard response to my emails and letters is ‘You’ll have to wait.’ There is also “we are working on it.”
Ms Gondul said her biggest concern was that neither Russia nor the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had confirmed that he was in captivity.
This is despite the fact that his name appears on a list published by the Russian Ministry of Defense, which reportedly lists the names of victims of the Olenevka attack.
Ms Gondul accused those tasked with helping POWs “only making statements, but we don’t see any action and I don’t know who they helped and how they helped… and no one ever felt their help and support.”
Meanwhile, her son Bodgan recently changed his headband to a picture of himself and his father.
“It was very difficult for us, especially for my son,” Ms. Gondul said.
“He keeps asking me to tell him stories about his father and he keeps asking me to decide what to do when he gets back.”
Last time Hannah Bilieva, 28 years old, her 26-year-old husband Alexander said he was “on the verge of death.”
A man who was in one cell and was released in September in a prisoner exchange said he was under severe mental pressure, lost his sight and weighed only 40 kg.
“February 22 is exactly a year since I haven’t seen my husband,” Ms. Bilyayeva said. “I feel terrible. My strength is running out. My health has deteriorated dramatically due to ongoing depression.
“I don’t know what to say… I really want the prisoners of war to be returned from this hell and sent back to their families. I just want to wake up from this nightmare.
She told you before I that her husband was among those allegedly tortured, and in captivity, prisoners were “humiliated, squatted and many were tortured during interrogations.”
“They are kept in very poor conditions, they do not have enough food and medicine. Another important aspect is the ill-treatment of them,” she said.
Ms Bilyayeva, a freelance illustrator, said her experience with the ICRC was “absolutely negative”.
“You ask them for information, they don’t have it, and you ask for information. They don’t do anything,” said the 28-year-old.
Ms. Bilyayeva said she tries hard to distract herself and visits a psychologist to help her deal with the situation.
“People are starting to forget about this problem, and many are fed up with the war and this situation, so we are trying to draw attention to this problem,” she said.
“It’s very scary that people stop acting on this issue.”
Vietta Shovkova, 22, said she had not spoken to her husband since the capitulation in May.
She last heard from 24-year-old Aleksey Bura in December, when several exchanged POWs told her they had seen him in Tahanrig in southwest Russia.
However, she still has no information about how her husband is doing.
Ms Shovkova said that prior to the interview, the situation was “very difficult” for her. IShe fainted in a taxi and cried for 20 minutes. The driver wanted to help, but “didn’t understand what was wrong with me.”
She continued, “I know that those who were exchanged in January were in very poor physical condition.”
She claimed that Russian servicemen “beat them (the POWs) before the exchange” and that “many had bruises and other injuries.”
She said she knew that when her husband returned, he would be a “changed person” and that she would have to find a new way to relate to him.
“On the one hand, he is the same person, on the other hand, maybe he has a different attitude and perception of many things, and I will have to get used to it and adapt,” she said.
Ms Shovkova accused Russia of “interfering” with a planned prisoner exchange, such as one due to take place on January 14, which Moscow denied at the last minute without giving reasons. Kyiv post reported.
She also expressed dissatisfaction with the work of the ICRC. She said they “turn a blind eye” to the plight of the POWs because “they don’t do anything”.
An ICRC spokesman said the organization had received more than 50,000 emails, phone calls and online applications “from people looking for news about their loved ones.”
“We were able to provide families with information thousands of times, which allayed their fears,” the spokesperson said.
“We share the disappointment of families looking forward to news. Families have the right to know about the fate of their loved ones.”
They added: “As of February 2022, the ICRC has been able to visit hundreds of prisoners of war from both sides, but we know we still need access to thousands more. Under the Third Geneva Convention, prisoners of war are entitled to regular visits from the ICRC. All states are required by law to allow this.
“Families suffer from the fact that they do not know how their loved ones are doing, whether they are healthy or sick, whether they are alive or dead. We will never stop demanding access to prisoners of war until we can see them all, not once, but repeatedly, wherever they are.”
Source: I News
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.