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‘One goal is to destroy Ukrainian identity’: the haunting images of Russia’s prisoners of war
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.
@Ukraine_Report ~ 4rrasoe 🇮🇩❤️🇺🇦🔱