The ordeal of prisoners in Russian jails

The euphoria of liberation and reunion. Images of Ukrainian prisoners returning to their homeland have been seen around the world. But how can they return to everyday life? After captivity and often torture, a military nurse is still struggling to come to terms with it, a year and a half after her return. She was held prisoner in Russian jails for six months.

After her capture in Mariupol (Ukraine), today she is a lonely woman, broken by the mistreatment she says she suffered. She is still unable to talk about it to her son.I have a tattoo of the Ukrainian emblem on my arm. They asked me if I was proud of my country. I said yes. It was a mistake, I should have lied,” she confides.

“We were treated like animals. I can only talk about it with a friend who was destroyed like me. We understand each other. Others feel sorry for me.”she assures. The 27-year-old has become a shadow of herself, concerned only with the fate of the other members of her brigade, still prisoners. “The only time I feel calm is when I’m embroidering. It’s hard to find calm again.”she laments.