A Ukrainian man who had his throat slit and was buried alive has revealed how he survived the horrific torture at the hands of Russian soldiers.
Despite the life-changing injuries which Vladislav, 33, suffered, he has already vowed to return to the front line as soon as he has completed his recovery.
The war with Russia has been raging on for three years now, and although world leaders are regularly gathering to try and find a solution with Vladimir Putin, civilians and soldiers continue to suffer.
Vladislav, who cannot speak after having his throat slit, has now written down some of the shocking things he experienced and saw after being captured by enemy soldiers.
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As per Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne, the father-of-one explained that his fellow hostages were castrated, their eyes gouged out, and their faces mutilated as part of terrifying torture techniques.
He and his comrades were taken prisoner by Russian soldiers after they lost control of their position near the city of Pokrovsk, in the eastern Donetsk region.
“The first guys who were captured — they were from intelligence — had their eyes gouged out, their lips cut off, their male organs cut off, their ears, their noses,” Vladislav’s brother, Yevhen, said.
Vladislav also shared through his diary that he was thrown into a pit containing seven dead soldiers, with garbage thrown on top of the mass grave.
“He says he was lucky that when they threw them into the pit, they poured more garbage on top so it wouldn’t be so visible. There was a broken bottle there, and his hands were tied, so he was able to cut the rope with that bottle,” Vladislav’s wife, Victoria, told Suspilne.
After managing to escape, Vladislav reportedly crawled for five days before reaching Ukrainian lines, where he was immediately rushed to hospital, although he had lost a huge amount of blood and his wounds had begun to rot.
General Director Serhiy, a medic in the Ukrainian military, said: “When they cut your throat, when a person is bleeding out, there are few chances. He held on to the end, but, you know, what makes it different is that he was sure to the end that everything would be fine."
Vladislav has a four-year-old daughter at home, but his family and doctors are hopeful that he should hopefully regain the ability to speak, with his brother confirming that he wants to return to the front line once he's back on his feet.
Branding his Russian captors 'creatures,' he said he wants them to go through 'what I and those seven of our Cossack boys felt,' Yevhen said.
Topics: Russia
James Moorhouse