After 82 days of fierce fighting at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukrainian Vadim Kitar surrenders to Russian forces.
Now he is a prisoner of war.
– SOLDIER: Vadim Kitar was a soldier at the Azovstal Steelworks in Mariupol. Photo: Private
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Together with 264 Ukrainian soldiers, he is driven to Russian-controlled areas.
The date is May 17th.
In Kyiv, his girlfriend, Kate Turchanova, is waiting in hopes of getting a sign of life from him.
But it remains quiet.
On television
After one month, a message suddenly appears on Kate’s phone. Then she gets a link to a Russian news broadcast about Ukrainian soldiers.
In the news broadcast, Kate sees her boyfriend, and two other Ukrainian soldiers from Azovstal, being transported in for questioning.
– Handcuffs: Vadim arrives at the interrogation in handcuffs. Photo: Private
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– Why were you with «Nazis» ?, the girlfriend is asked.
He replies that he was young and stupid, and that he believed in “Nazi propaganda” and was influenced by the ideas of “neo-Nazism”.
Then Vadim’s tattoos are shown and the reporter says that there are tattoos in memory of his idols, but that he now regrets what he has been involved in.
Kate is in shock. Not only about what his girlfriend answers, but also what he looks like.
– INTERROGATION: This is what Vadim looks like in the TV advertisement. Photo: Private
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– It was difficult to recognize him in the video, it looks like he has been tortured. He has lost a front tooth, and he has lost at least 20 kilos, Kate says to TV 2.
Shot in the foot
Nearly 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers had sought refuge in and under the large Azovstal steelworks, where heavy fighting had been going on for weeks.
– AZOVSTAL: This giant steelworks was the last stronghold of a group of Ukrainian soldiers. Hundreds of civilians sought refuge here and were evacuated around 1 May. Photo: PAVEL KLIMOV
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Vadim was one of those soldiers.
Kate received regular updates from her boyfriend, and thus witnessed how the soldiers fought 82 tough days in the steelworks.
– It was very tough, she says.
– SHOT: April 16, Vadim sent this picture to Kate. Photo: Private
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On April 16, the message came that made her even more worried.
– He was shot in the foot and could not get the necessary treatment, she says.
Gradually, it became more difficult to live underground.
– In recent days, he said that it was difficult to get food and clean water, she says.
It was Vadim who kept 20-year-old Kate motivated and positive about the future, but now everything looks dark.
– There has been a lot of talk about the death penalty in the Russian media. I fear for his life, she says.
Become a symbol
The controversial Azov Battalion has become a symbol of the war, and it also has a central role in Russian propaganda.
– SYMBOL: The Azov Battalion has become a symbol of the war in Ukraine. Photo: Private
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The battalion was formerly a voluntary organization that had strong ties to the far right, but which has since been incorporated into the Ukrainian National Guard. The National Guard can be compared with the Norwegian Home Guard.
This has led the Russian Attorney General to ask the country’s Supreme Court to define the Azov regiment as a terrorist organization. The verdict will fall on June 29.
– INJURY: The photo was taken on May 10, and it shows a Ukrainian soldier in the Azovstal steelworks. Photo: DMYTRO ‘OREST’ KOZATSKYI
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If that happens, Russia could punish Ukrainian soldiers, according to Russian media.
Death penalty
Kate is afraid that Vadim risks the death penalty, because he has been a soldier since 2015, and is now imprisoned by Russia.
“Since they were captured, there has been a lot of talk that Ukrainian soldiers should be sentenced to death,” she says.
Now Kate does not know where Vadim is, and she is fighting, like other relatives, to get an exchange agreement for her loved one.
– PRISONER OF WAR: A bus full of Ukrainian soldiers holding the stronghold in Azovstal is being carried away by pro-Russian groups. Photo: ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO
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– I fear for this one-sided trial and a possible execution. They must not be forgotten. The world must focus on this and do something before it is too late, she says in the end.
«Military special operation»
Russia calls the war a “military special operation” that makes it impossible to give soldiers official status as prisoners of war, which would give them certain rights under international law.
The fact that the soldiers have been transported to Russian-controlled areas, and not Ukrainian-controlled areas, poses a great risk to the soldiers.
Ukrainian authorities claim to be able to arrange a prisoner exchange, while Russian authorities have not released such information. On the contrary, they say that some of the soldiers can be brought to justice and executed, writes The Guardian.
The journalist behind the article, Aysun Yazici, is a journalist from Turkey who lives in exile in Norway. She is affiliated with TV 2’s foreign department.
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