Thread by @sumlenny

THREAD Ukrainian soldier Olexiy Onulya spent 9 months in Russian captivity. In his interview to Ukrainian @TextyOrgUa he described routine torture he experienced and observed. I publish his main messages to demonstrate what terror will go on if Ukraine "freezes" the war. /1

Olexiy Onulya was a kickboxer from Chernihiv, a beautiful Ukrainian city in the north of the country, close to both Belarus and Russia. Within 9 months in Russian captivity, he was routinely tortured with batons, electricity, and hunger. /2

Olexiy was captured on March 9th 2022 close to Chernihiv. His unit faced a massive Russian attack with dozens of tanks and IFVs. He and his comrades destroyed multiple tanks, but soon were out of ammunition. "A Russian shell came, I lost my tooth, my face was bleeding" /3

"Later I took 49 fragments from my face, jaw, hand. I took off my armour and helmet, jumped into a cave close to a road to hide. Russian patrols were searching the area, close to me. I knew in 18 km there is a village where my godfather's mother lives. I decided to go there". /4

"On my way, I met an old Belarusian granny, she gave me an egg and chocolate. When I left here house, I met another local woman, 35-40 years old. She asked me: 'Soldier, soldier, are you our one? Are you against us?" I am sure, she was the one who betrayed me to the Russians". /5

Soon, a patrol of four Russians, with Buryat look, came across my way. They searched me and robbed my belonging: German boots, belt, Japanese Casio watch. But they did not want to capture me, only to rob. Than their commanding officer came, and he identified me as a Ukrainian" /6

"Their problem was to unblock my phone. I showed them again and again, that the code was drawing a "√" symbol, but they could not remember. They discussed how to cut off my finger to unblock the phone every time they need. I hardly explained this a dead finger will not help". /7

"So even with my hands tied behind my back, they brought my phone and I had to unblock it with my finger behind my back". /8

"One of Russians have recognised me as a Ukrainian kickboxer, and said: 'This khokhol (slur for Ukrainians) will be useful for us'. He eased band on my wrists, put some isolation under my body to make it not so cold. He asked me to add him on social networks too". /9

"The most aggressive of the Russian soldiers was a soldier from the North Caucasus. He raped one prisoner because that prisoner looked like him. There was a 20-years old prisoner with us, he was gang raped at a checkpoint by six Russians. The prisoner's parents had to watch". /10

"We were brought to a camp close to Kursk. They took blood samples, DNA, made a 3D photo of face, checked our palms with UV looking for gunpowder traces. They read our social network accounts, looking if we supported Maidan, protested against the Russian church" /11

"Those who protested on Maidan, they executed them. They said: those people destroyed a pro-Russian government, they were paid by the U.S." /12

"In May, they brought us to Tula, and than to Donskoi prison. On 'arrival' they beat you: with batons, electroshocks. I couldn't step on my foot, it was rotting. They beat you all the time. Wake up you at 6am, at 7am they beat you. At 8am they beat you checking your names" /13

"Than you go to the yard, they beat you from all directions. You walk - they beat you. They can do it for 15 minutes, can do for 30 minutes. I had bleedings everywhere: head, feet, anus. My rips were broken. They beaten me deliberately on my wounded leg" /14

"They cut muscles on my finger with a knife saying: 'you used this finger to fire at us'. They beaten me in a group, five, seven people, the whole body. They were males and females, who were beating me, no difference. Zero sympathy. They cut "Z" sign on cheeks of POWs" /15

"Once a soldier put me on my four, and asked: 'did you mom beat you?' I said: 'no, never'. - 'And my mom used beat me' he said, than he took a cutting plate and started to beat me. After that he took two electroshocks and electrocuted me until the batteries died". /16

"I lost 40 kilograms in captivity, I lost also 6 cm of my height. Before captivity, I was an athlete, run 15 km a day. Now it is hard for me to walk a mile." /17

"In our cells, we did not have any sewer or running water. Beds were black from fungus, no light, very cold. They demanded from us certain actions, like if they hit a door with a baton once, we need to greet them. If four: cry "Pikachu", if five cry "Zelensky is a faggot" etc /18

"The Russians deliberately came to serve in this prison to torture Ukrainians. They enjoyed it. They had zero sympathy. They started to beat a wounded person focusing on their wound. They were killing prisoners". /19

"They fed us sometimes from plates they used to feed dogs. They fed us with boiled water with cabbage, or sometimes fish heads. Once I got an onion. I was chewing it as long as I could, so tasty it was for me." /20

"I found rainworms once and put them into a water can in my cell. In a week, there was a dozen of worms already. I was so happy. I ate them all. It was my first protein since weeks. I have never tasted anything that tasty after" /21

"I was hunting a mouse in my cell, to eat it. After months in a cell, I could hear things very well, although my eyesight weakened massively. Finally, I caught that mouse. But the Russians saw movement in my cell, and came to check. I put the mouse into my mouth to keep it" /22

"The mouse was alive, and I started to bite it in order to kill it. And I could not say anything, while I had to 'greet' the Russians. They started to beat me, and I was trying to chew the mouse at the same time. The mouse bite my tongue, I started to bleed out of my mouth" /23

"The Russians believed, they destroyed my kidneys, that is why I was bleeding, and stopped beating me. And I did not feel any pain, because I was fascinated by the fact that I am chewing real meat. I was chewing it like a candy". /24

"There was no medical help there. There was one Russian nurse, she constantly told how she hates Ukrainians. Once a week, we had a 'bath day', but it was another torture day. The Russians used electroshocks on our wet bodies." /25

"My father was in the army. He did not believe there will be war with Russia. The Russians killed him. They captured him, tortured him, and burned his body, than dumped it into the field. We found his body and identified with a DNA" /26

"I was ready to commit suicide. I decided to kill myself, and than I saw my belated grandmother walking in my cell. She said: 'Where do you want to go? You have not greeted your kids to Christmas yet'. I stood up, the Russians saw movement in my cell, stormed in and beaten me"/27

"The Russians transferred us to another camp, asked us, if we were ready to fight for Belarus. We said no, they started to beat us. Than, they gave us another cloth. I got trunks with someone's dry faeces and blood. I was exhausted and could not do anything". /28

"On December 31st 2022, they put us on a bus, said they bring us to an execution. We couldn't see anything. After some hours, they left a bus and than we heard Ukrainian voice: "Boys, why are heroes are so sad?" I could not believe my ears. I called my wife an said I go home" /29

"I am on a rehabilitation program since 10 months. I learned that my former colleague helped a lot to bring me out of captivity. This November, I participated in baptism of his daughter and am her godfather now". /30
Link: texty.org.ua/articles/11119…

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