Ukraine releases shocking ‘before and after’ images of soldier freed from Russian captivity

Kyiv expressed outrage at Russia over its treatment of a Ukrainian prisoner of war (POW)—who was recently freed—forcing it to release the ‘before and after images’ of the soldier to point out how Moscow is treating the captive Ukrainian soldiers.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence shared images of soldier Mykhailo Dianov on Twitter, describing how lucky he was to survive despite him appearing emaciated and with scares on his face and right arm.

“Mykhailo Dianov is among the fortunate ones; in contrast with some of his fellow POWs, he survived Russian captivity,” it tweeted.

“This is how Russia ‘adheres’ to the Geneva Conventions. This is how Russia continues the shameful legacy of Nazism,” it added.

Advisor to the Ukrainian foreign ministry, Anton Gerashchenko, said that he was missing four centimetres of bone in one arm. 

“Treatment and rehabilitation will take a long time now (and more pain),” he added. “That’s all we need to know about captivity.”

According to Kyiv Independent news outlet, Mykhailo Dianov, a soldier of the Ukrainian Azov regiment, was among the 215 prisoners of war exchanged in a prisoner swap on September 21.

Dianov was among the 2,000 soldiers dispatched to seize Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol port city from Russia, but they were defeated and captured in mid-May.

His sister Olena Lavrushko told Ukrainian publication Pravda on September 23 that he wasn’t given medical care while in Russian captivity.

She said that her brother needs to gain weight before doctors perform surgery.

“That’s the main thing, because he can’t be operated on in his condition. It could be dangerous for his health,” Lavrushko was quoted as saying.

“So, he has to recover now and gain strength.”

Meanwhile, money is now being raised for the treatment of Dianov.

(With inputs from agencies)

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