Former POWs use their suffering as fuel to throw themselves back into the fight against Russia with more determination than ever
From: The Telegraph by Verity Bowman in Kramatorsk
In the front line city of Kramatorsk, a Ukrainian woman who endured torture and humiliation in Russian captivity is making a vow of revenge.
“Before captivity, I was angry at the Russians,” said Snizhana Vasylivna Ostapenko, a 23-year-old soldier who was held by Moscow for five months. “Now it’s true hatred and a desire to have revenge for what they’ve done to our country and our people.”
Earlier this year, Ms Ostapenko spoke out on the horrors she had been subjected to during her incarceration. Her account, along with those given by several other women taken as POWs, revealed a systematic campaign of abuse.
They described being beaten and denied medical care, as well as being forced to march naked in the snow and expose themselves to their captors – evidence of what are almost certainly war crimes.
The Telegraph travelled to Ukraine to find out how these women had learned to live with their trauma and found they had thrown themselves back into the fight against Russia and were more determined than ever to thwart Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
Far from letting their trauma beat them, they have turned their experiences into a source of strength.
“My suffering as a prisoner of war has become fuel,” Ms Ostapenko said. “We will not let them win.”
Voice of Ukraine 