War breaks simple ideas of heroism.

Denys Storozhuk, a defender of Azovstal, refused to surrender when ordered — he chose to survive alone, in occupied Mariupol.

This is a story that shocks and teaches what survival really means.

🧵1/6⬇️ He faked his own death, leaving a farewell note and escaping through the sewers.
Everyone had to believe he was gone.
It was his only chance to disappear.

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How can anyone believe that russia — the country responsible for these atrocities — actually wants peace?
A thread on Ukrainian cities russia has destroyed.

▪️Mariupol — ~430,000 in 2022. Tens of thousands killed or displaced. City mostly reduced to rubble.

🧵 1/14 ▪️Chasiv Yar — ~12,000 in 2022. Most civilians evacuated. Heavily damaged by constant shelling.

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“In captivity, we are dust that gets crushed.
You’re beaten, strangled, suffocated with gas, drowned in a bathtub.”

— Mariupol native Yaroslav Rumiantsev recalls 39 months of russian captivity.

🧵 This thread is Yaroslav’s memories and testimony.

1/10 Yaroslav Rumiantsev is a serviceman of Ukraine’s 23rd Marine Detachment.
He lived in Mariupol all his life.

Joined the Marines in 2016. Served in Mariupol, Berdiansk, Shyrokyne.

On May 16, 2022, he left Azovstal and was captured.

2/10

Valeriy Torkotyuk from Bar, Vinnytsia region, spent 2 years 9 months in russian captivity. He returned home seriously ill: tuberculosis, hernia, and PTSD.

Here are his memories and plans for the future.

1/10 Valeriy began his service in 2017. He was captured on September 4, 2022.

His first interrogations were the harshest:
"The harshest interrogations were in Kherson, in the SIZO. They tried to get information using electric shocks and sticks"

2/10

Today at the European Parliament, people couldn’t hold back tears as 11-year-old Roman Oleksiv described surviving russia’s July 14, 2022 strike on Vinnytsia.

russia destroys children.
Ukrainian kids are forced to inspire an indifferent world instead of simply living. That day, Roman was in Vinnytsia with his mother, waiting for a doctor’s appointment while visiting his grandmother, when russian missiles hit the city.

His 29-year-old mother was killed instantly—along with 25 others that day. Roman’s survival was nothing short of a miracle.

"There were so many bodies on the road that we had to cover the children’s eyes." — 37-year-old Olena, lucky to escape the hell of Mariupol.

This thread is Olena’s testimony about the horrific first weeks of the full-scale invasion in Mariupol.

1/13 On February 24th at 4:30 a.m., we woke up to explosions.

Our houses still had electricity, water, gas, and heating. The mayor said everything was under control. So we tried not to panic. We bought bread and milk and returned home

2/13

Marine infantrywoman Inha Chekinda was captured in Mariupol and spent nearly six months in captivity.

This thread shares her story — her testimony about the fear, pain, and brutal abuse she and her sister-in-arms endured.

1/9 Inha was held in a cell with a young sister-in-arms across from the interrogation room.

She recalls seeing her captor for the first time:
"A living body, but no life in his eyes. Call sign — Death. Hands without fingers, just solid bone. I will never forget him."

2/9

This 🧵 tells the story of artist Daria Zymenko, who, in February–March 2022, survived the occupation in the Kyiv region with her family and endured sexual violence at the hands of russian barbarians.

Here are her words, her photos, and her artwork.

🧵1/9 “This small window served us as a 'gap to the world'. In the first days of the invasion, we watched the movement of russian vehicles from here and saw the russian military surrounding the village.”

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Unlike russia, which bombs cities, Ukraine hits the economic backbone of the war.

This 🧵: A Week of Strikes — a timeline of Ukraine dismantling the terrorists’ war chest (Nov 8–16).

Ukraine is doing everything it can, while the world keeps waiting.

🧵1/11 November 8:
- Volgograd region: Strike on Balakovo substation and TPP-1. Blackout for 20,000 homes and chemical plants.
- Voronezh: Damage to TPP-1.
- Taganrog: Strike on substation and fuel depots. Fuel shortage for the Black Sea Fleet.

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Danylo Murashkin, an Azov fighter, spent over 3 years in russian captivity.

At 19, from the first day of the open invasion, he defended Mariupol. He was captured on May 16, 2022, from the Azovstal plant.

This thread tells the story of his captivity and survival.

🧵1/10 About the Olenivka massacre:
“I had a feeling something was going to happen… I witnessed the attack. I heard explosions, saw flames. When I went outside, I heard the screams of our guys. And I realized something terrible had happened,” he recalls.

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“They pulled skin off my back alive — I have a scar the whole length of my spine.”

Ukrainian border guard Yevhenii Sholudko, recently freed from russian captivity, shares the horrors he endured.

🧵1/4 Prison conditions were inhumane:
“Naked, no windows, no toilet, just rubber walls. You pee in a corner. They watched you.”

“I have a scar the whole length of my back. They had this device… when the iron rod rises, it tears the skin off alive.”

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Fear, endless pain, loneliness — and an incredible will to survive.
All captured in the drawings of Ukrainian children in this thread.

The world let them suffer. It’s horrifying.

🧵1/10 Tetyana, 11 years old, Kryvyi Rih.

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Ukrainian Female POWs: Accounts of Abuse.

Several Ukrainian women captured by russian forces have shared harrowing accounts of systematic abuse — including physical torture, sexual violence, and public humiliation.
👇
🧵1/13 Lyudmila Huseynova, 61, was detained by russia in 2019, surviving captivity for three years and 13 days.

“Any woman in ‘Izolyatsiya’ wasn’t just tortured — she was raped.”

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Meet one of Ukraine’s heroes!

Three grenades hit his tank, and he was standing on the armor, shooting at the enemy.

For this battle, Ihor Levchenko was awarded the “Golden Star.”

His story? Pure courage.
👇
🧵1/7 Ihor’s from Poltava.
Before the war, he’d never even touched a tank. In March 2022, he shows up at the enlistment office and has to learn it all from scratch.

🧵2/7

A short thread with quotes from Azov fighter Oleksandr Hryshyn, who survived Azovstal and Olenivka.

“For every word I spoke in Ukrainian, they beat me. Brutally. Mercilessly.”

🧵1/6 “In Olenivka, they threw me into the death row cell. They blew us up there. I survived by miracle—shrapnel everywhere except my right hand.”

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"This is a concentration camp."

Marine Yurii Hulchuk spent over two years in russian captivity, a year of it almost completely silent.

His story is one of survival and endurance—and a reminder of how precious freedom is.

🧵1/6 When Yurii returned to Ukraine, he was unable to eat or lift a spoon. He could barely speak.

“When I realized how much time, effort, and work—and how many people—were needed to free me from captivity, I felt embarrassed,” Yurii later said about his release.

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Meet Long T. @Longtstanding – an American fighter of the Separate Assault Battalion "Arey" UDA.

She’s not only on the front lines but also writes books for Ukrainian children.

Stories about courage, friendship, survival—and how to stay human even in war.

🧵1/4 Her books:

The Tarot Adventures of Talbit – teaches bravery and kindness.

Brave Is Where The Heart Leads – about facing your fears.

Strong As Us – surviving under fire and learning safety skills.

Kids love them.
All books are available at .

🧵2/4StrongAsUs.com

Today marks the anniversary of the #Olenivka massacre — a deliberate terrorist attack by russian occupiers against Ukrainian POWs.

One of the few survivors, Ostap Shved, gave a chilling testimony.

This was not an accident. It was a setup.

🧵1/4 “They gathered everyone in one barrack a few days before. That had never happened before.”

Then came the explosion. “We were lying in blood, many friends died before our eyes. The exit was blocked with bodies and bunk beds.”

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This thread contains real quotes from Lyudmila Huseynova — a Ukrainian volunteer from occupied Donetsk.

In 2019, russian forces abducted her and threw her into the Izolyatsia prison.

She spent 3 years in hell. Tortured. Isolated. Silenced.

These are her words.

🧵1/5 “They forced me to kneel. Hands behind my head. Eyes down. If you moved — they beat you.”

“They kicked my face. Then made me sing the russian anthem.”

“They told me: ‘You’ll rot here. No one’s coming for you.”

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What russia does to Ukrainian civilians in occupied territories:

– Kidnapping
– Torture
– Forced confessions
– Illegal detention

Vira Biryuk, 32 years old, survived all of it.

This thread is her story.

🧵1/6 "I woke up to men in balaclavas. There was a red laser dot on my chest" — Vira Biryuk, from Bakhmutivka, Luhansk region, said.

On Sept. 4, 2023, russians blindfolded her and took her to the FSB basement in occupied Luhansk — where she'd later be held with murderers.

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They grabbed her on the street.
Put a bag over her head.
She simply vanished.

Maryna Yurchak — a Ukrainian woman who paid for loving her country with years of torture and silence.

Held in the infamous “Izolyatsia” prison. Branded a spy. The world barely noticed.

🧵 1/6 Maryna was a civilian. In 2017, she was arrested in occupied Donetsk for her posts on Twitter. Her account was @levzeja.

“Spy,” “extremist,” “SBU agent” — that’s what russian proxies called her.
In reality, she just told the truth and dreamed of a free Ukraine.

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