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"They didn't let me contact my relatives"
"It is important to understand that Russia does not need the truth.
She decides that she will be the "truth", and begins to pull what she passes off as facts under her.
In our case, Russia needed the fact that we were somehow treated, but in fact it was not a treatment, but a preservation of life, so that we lived until the moment of a possible exchange," said Vladislav Zhaivaranak, who lost his leg after being wounded, at a press conference in Kyiv.
According to him, there was very strong psychological pressure in captivity.
"Russia did not provide access to communication with relatives and the outside world.
They justified the psychological pressure by the fact that no one needs us: "You will lose in this war, and in general you do not need to call anyone", - said a Ukrainian soldier who served in the "Azov" unit.
The seriously wounded were interrogated
Vladislav Zhaivaranak said that the Russians interrogated the seriously wounded:
"I was interrogated even before they started giving antibiotics after the amputation of my leg.
Therefore, it is difficult to call it a treatment.
The boys who were there were severely tortured - some had needles inserted into their wounds, some were tortured with water, some received inadequate treatment," he said.
According to him, not all captured and wounded Ukrainians were in the hospital, some were in the camp for prisoners of war in Alenivka.
"They gave 600 grams of water for two days"
Dzianis Chapurok, a fighter of the "Azov" unit, who lost his arm and was wounded in the leg, was in Alenivka:
"I was a witness when the boys were beaten.
They kicked us out and searched us, stripping us naked.
We were naked in the heat, we were forced to squat, and those who raised their heads were immediately beaten.
During interrogations, they beat me, forcing me to sign statements against my command," he said.
According to him, during interrogations, the Russians forced them to admit that it was the "Azov" regiment that bombed the city of Mariupol:
"I said that I would not do it, and they started beating me with sticks.
But I didn't sign anything.
There were threats to life by shooting.
I saw how guys were taken from our barracks and after 2-3 days they were brought back beaten with broken ribs," he clarified.
"We were forced to run, we were given 600 grams of water for two days, but the water was not potable.
It was very difficult for everyone there.
There were 10 of us in the meter-by-meter cell, and we slept on the floor," said Dzianis Chapurok.
"They demanded to confess that they killed the civilian population"
Dmytro Usachenko serves in the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
On March 28, he was landed on "Azovstal" in one of the helicopters used to deliver aid to the Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol.
The scout was captured with two wounds, he said:
"The captives were intimidated with physical torture and execution during the so-called "investigative actions".
They wanted us to admit that we killed the civilian population, although we did not," he said.
Russia is preparing a show trial of prisoners
Meanwhile, Russia is preparing to hold a show trial in Mariupol over captured fighters of the Ukrainian "Azov" regiment.
In early August, Life published a video from the Mariupol Philharmonic, where metal cages were built for the defendants for the upcoming trial.
The Ukrainian mayor of Mariupyla, Vadim Boychanka, did not rule out that the Russian military could hold a trial of Ukrainian prisoners of war on the Independence Day of Ukraine, August 24.
Earlier, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that Russia will "close any chance of negotiations" with the Ukrainian authorities if it starts holding so-called referendums in the occupied territories.
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Russia's war against Ukraine
At 5 o'clock in the morning on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of a military operation against Ukraine in the Donbass at the request of the "DPR" and "LPR" groups.
On February 21, during a televised address to Russians, Putin called the so-called "DPR" and "LPR" independent states within the regions.
On February 22, the Council of the Federation ratified this decision.
All days of the war, Ukrainian cities were bombarded with rockets, aircraft flew over them.
Russian troops are attacking, including from the territory of Belarus, using airfields, bases and roads.
Representatives of the Lukashenka regime justify the war, the opposition considers the territory of Belarus occupied and calls for resistance to the Russian invaders.
On February 27, the International Territorial Defense Legion was created in Ukraine, and foreign volunteers were invited to join it.
Belarusians also entered there.
During the three and a half months of the war, several Belarusian volunteers and soldiers of the USU died at the front: Alyaksei "Tur" Skoblya, Ilya "Litvin" Hrenau, Zmytser "Terror" Apanosovich, Zmytser "Hans" Rubashevsky, Konstantin "Phoenix" Dubaila, Pavel "Volat" , Ivan "Brest" Marchuk.
In the battle where Marchuk was killed, another six Belarusian fighters disappeared without a trace.
It is generally known about 10 fallen Belarusian soldiers of various units, including the Kalinovsky Regiment.
On June 17, the fighters of the Kalinovsky regiment received the state Ukrainian awards "For combat merits" and "Ukraine above all".
On March 30, the UN approved the composition of an independent commission that will investigate Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
It included people who worked in the analysis of the genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Contrary to Putin's statements about attacks only on military facilities, the Russians are bombing schools, kindergartens and residential areas of Ukrainian cities.
The Russians are using banned weapons, including cluster bombs, against civilians.
On April 1, Lithuania became the first country in the European Union to completely abandon Russian gas.
Latvia and Estonia followed her example.
Germany has promised to completely stop using Russian oil by the end of 2022.
On April 2, after the liberation of the town of Bucha near Kyiv, photojournalists published dozens of photographs showing hundreds of dead people, victims of mass murders committed by Russian troops.
Many are buried in spontaneous mass graves.
The Russian occupation also brought great destruction to the people of Barodyan.
It is also known about a number of rapes, including babies.
In April, missile attacks on Ukraine and airstrikes from the territory of Belarus decreased, Russian troops began to leave Belarus.
On May 9, the US President signed the Land Leasing Law.
This law restores the program from the Second World War, which will speed up the delivery of weapons to Ukraine and increase the amount of such assistance.
On the night of May 17, the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Anna Malyar, confirmed the beginning of the operation to rescue the Ukrainian soldiers, who were trapped in the territory of "Azovstal".
According to her, 53 seriously wounded were evacuated from there to the medical facility of occupied Novoazovsk.
Another 211 people were brought to Alenivka through the humanitarian corridor.
The Ministry of Defense of Russia states that almost 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers at the plant "surrendered" as of May 18.
The International Red Cross officially registered these fighters as prisoners of war.
Since its inception, thousands of volunteers from 55 countries have joined the Foreign Legion, including Canada, the Baltic States, Poland, Australia, the Netherlands, the USA, the Czech Republic, Finland and other countries.
Several foreigners who fought for Ukraine were captured and died.
In June, the so-called "DPR" sentenced two volunteers from Great Britain and one from Morocco to death.
Since the beginning of the war, 34 journalists have died.
Some did not perform professional functions, but were mobilized into the Ukrainian army.
On June 25, Ukrainian troops retreated from the city of Severodanetsk to fortified positions.
The city was captured by the Russian military.
On July 29, as a result of an attack on the colony in Alenivtsi, at least 53 Ukrainian prisoners who previously defended the Azovstal plant were killed.
The Russians accused Ukraine of the attack, the Ukrainian side declared that the prisoners were deliberately killed by the Russian side.
Independent verification of information about military actions provided by officials of various parties is still impossible.