Two years in Russian captivity: Shocking images of emaciated prisoner released

Roman, a senior checkpoint supervisor in Chornobyl, spent over two years in Russian captivity. At the end of May, he was released along with other prisoners in another exchange. The photos of the emaciated man shared on social media are simply shocking.

Roman and 74 other prisoners returned to Ukraine on May 31 as part of a prisoner-of-war exchange. Photos of Roman after over two years in Russian captivity are horrifying. The man is very emaciated, with almost all his bones protruding from under his skin.

The photos of Roman Wasylowicz Goriłyka were shared on the X platform (formerly Twitter) by representatives of the "I Want to Live" project.

Launched in September 2022, the project is aimed at Russian soldiers who wish to surrender to the Ukrainian army voluntarily. The program operates under the auspices of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Roman was the senior supervisor of the nuclear power plant checkpoint in Chornobyl, as reported by the "I Want to Live" project. The Russians took him, along with 168 National Guardsmen guarding the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, as hostages in March 2022 and transported them out of Ukraine via Belarus.

89 are still held captive, and the Russian side uses them for exchange for Russian military personnel taken captive, informed representatives of the "I Want to Live" project.

Throughout Roman's captivity in Russia, he and the other 74 Ukrainian prisoners of war were never visited by observers from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Denying observers the ability to see prisoners of war, in violation of the provisions of the Geneva Convention, is a deliberate and intentional policy of the Russian government. It happens specifically so that the International Red Cross cannot register how the Russian side treats prisoners of war, communicated the "I Want to Live" project.

Unlike the aggressor, Ukraine adheres to the Geneva Convention. Captured Russians are not held in high-security colonies with prisoners. On the other hand, Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia are treated inhumanely, although Russia is a signatory of the Geneva Conventions.

At the end of May, for the first time since February, Russia exchanged 75 captured prisoners with Ukraine. The news was also confirmed by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.

"Soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the National Guard, border guards, and four civilians -all returned home," announced Zelensky on the social network Telegram.

The Russian authorities added that the United Arab Emirates mediated the prisoner exchange. At the start of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, both countries conducted over 50 prisoner exchanges. Recently, this process has been complicated by mutual accusations of shooting down a plane in January on Russian territory, which was transporting Ukrainians to the exchange point.