{"id":588893,"date":"2026-05-19T20:30:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T17:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/korabelov.info\/2026\/05\/588893\/rusal-war-captivity-and-return-life-handed-a-man-from-mykolaiv-an-overly-harsh-script\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T20:32:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T17:32:14","slug":"rusal-war-captivity-and-return-life-handed-a-man-from-mykolaiv-an-overly-harsh-script","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/korabelov.info\/en\/2026\/05\/588893\/rusal-war-captivity-and-return-life-handed-a-man-from-mykolaiv-an-overly-harsh-script\/","title":{"rendered":"\"Rusal\", war, captivity and return: life handed a man from Mykolaiv an overly harsh script"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mykolaiv resident Volodymyr Kravchenko<\/strong>, who spent more than three years<\/strong> in Russian captivity, spoke about his service, the defense of Mariupol, beatings, hunger and survival in Russian prisons. The serviceman told his story to journalists of Suspilne<\/a>.<\/p>\n

His combat service Volodymyr Kravchenko<\/strong> began back in 2014<\/strong> as part of the 79th Air Assault Brigade<\/strong>. According to him, at that time the unit carried out reconnaissance raids and held the defense in the Donetsk region.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIn the Amvrosiivka area we took up positions and waited for them there. We were ready for anything. Then they threw us into a breakthrough towards the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, to the border. It was June 12 \u2014 we reached the border. That is, we had already entered the enemy’s rear,\u201d \u2014 the serviceman recalls.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In 2021<\/strong> he joined the 36th Separate Marine Brigade<\/strong>. From the start of the full-scale invasion he was in Mariupol<\/strong>, where together with his comrades he defended the city and set up positions at the plant and in bunkers under constant shelling.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe saw how they \u201cironed\u201d Mariupol \u2014 they completely leveled the city center. We understood that they needed the city itself,\u201d \u2014 Volodymyr says.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

After two unsuccessful attempts to break out of the encirclement, on April 12, 2022 the serviceman fell into Russian captivity.<\/p>\n

According to the marine, at first they were held in barracks without water or food, and then were transferred to Olenivka.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere it was six days without water. They fed us, but when it came to water \u2014 nothing. They had issues with it, so all we wanted was water. The first thing you need in captivity is water,\u201d \u2014 he says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After that Ukrainian servicemen were transported to the Ivaniv region of the Russian Federation, where, according to the Mykolaiv resident, the \u201creal nightmare of captivity\u201d began.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was 3.2 years in captivity \u2014 constant hunger. They feed you only enough so that you can stay on your feet. That’s it, nothing more,\u201d \u2014 the marine recounts.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He recalls that beatings were systematic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey beat with everything: batons, sticks, even with a wooden mallet. During inspections \u2014 every time you left the cell, in short, there was a beating,\u201d \u2014 says Volodymyr Kravchenko.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to him, conditions varied between different colonies, but the essence remained the same \u2014 constant fear, beatings and humiliation.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou wake up in the morning \u2014 and you expect a beating. Then breakfast, or the other way around,\u201d \u2014 the serviceman says.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He also recalls the psychological pressure and inhuman treatment.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe hardest part is feeling that you are a person, while you are in such conditions as if you are not a person. And the way they treat you is worse than how they treat cattle,\u201d \u2014 the marine says.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

From captivity Volodymyr Kravchenko<\/strong> returned on June 10, 2025<\/strong>. The serviceman received the breast badge \u201cFor Resilience\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

After rehabilitation he plans to return to the military.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat was the hardest thing \u2014 knowing that, God forbid, tomorrow there might be an exchange, and I might die today,\u201d \u2014 the serviceman admits.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Mykolaiv resident Volodymyr Kravchenko<\/strong> spent more than three years<\/strong> in Russian captivity.<\/p>\n

Before the war he worked as a fitter of the 5th grade<\/strong> at the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant<\/strong>, which at that time belonged to the Russian company \u201cRUSAL\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

After the annexation of Crimea<\/strong> in 2014<\/strong>, Volodymyr himself took the draft notice and mobilized into the 79th Air Assault Brigade<\/strong>. His military service began on March 20, 2014<\/strong>. Later he served in the 36th Separate Marine Brigade<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIn 2014<\/strong>, when they went to Crimea<\/strong>, I went to the 79th brigade<\/strong>, took the draft notice, went, mobilized. With comrades in 2014<\/strong> everything started, March 20, 2014<\/strong>. I joined the troops. And then my military service began,\u201d \u2014 recalls Volodymyr Kravchenko<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n