Week-ending 20 June 2025
“It was not a questioning process, it was torture […] They shoved a stun gun between my legs, you know, a stun gun that kills cows. They said, if it drops from your legs, we will use it on you. I came back in the evening, I was just thrown into the cell. My whole body was atrophied. My mouth didn’t work. The guys who were with me, they took a spoon and fed me.”
– Dmytro Chorny, a Ukrainian marine who spent three years in Russian captivity.
Source: Daniel Boffey, ‘The first rule is to forget your past life: Ukrainian marine tells of his three years of torment in Russian captivity,’ The Guardian, 20 June 2025
Background from The Guardian: More than 5,000 Ukrainians have been released from Russian captivity under swap agreements since February 2022 and for all the joy and relief that this has brought, the impact of captivity on the mental health of these often young men and women can be profound. After a few weeks [Dmytro] Chorny was moved to a punishment cell. And in a cell he stayed – for three years. Then there were the interrogations. His head was covered with a bag, still soiled by the snot, saliva and blood of the last victim. Wires were attached to his fingers that led to a military phone that the guards called Igor. When it was wound up, it created an electric charge. […] He was interrogated on one occasion for three hours.
“Several penal battalions exist, like this brigade or Storm Z. Most have no families. Their lives are entirely in the hands of their commanders. Those with experience may be useful. The rest? Just meat for assaults.”
– Yuri Borovskikh, a human rights activist from the Rus Sidyashchaya (Russia Behind Bars) NGO
Source: Lukas Žalalis, ‘Crime and Punishment: An Ex-Wagner Mercenary Recounts Russia’s Suicide Warfare in Ukraine,’ The Moscow Times, 20 June 2025
Background from The Moscow Times: Alexander Platov was in prison for murdering his wife when an unexpected opportunity arose. In 2022, he was recruited into the Wagner mercenary group to fight in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in exchange for a pardon. Six months later, he was a free man. Unable to reintegrate into civilian life, Platov signed a new contract with the Defense Ministry and returned to the front at the end of 2024. But this time, the former mercenary and his fellow ex-convicts were treated as expendable. After surviving a suicide assault and sustaining severe shrapnel wounds, Platov shared his story with The Moscow Times.
“I consider Russians and Ukrainians to be one people. In that sense, all of Ukraine is ours. […] There is a saying: wherever a Russian soldier sets foot, that is ours.”
– Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, at the Economic Forum held in St. Petersburg.
Source: AP, ‘Saying ‘All of Ukraine Is Ours,’ Putin Does Not Rule Out Taking City of Sumy,’ The Moscow Times, 20 June 2025
Background from The Moscow Times: President Vladimir Putin said Friday he did not “rule out” his forces taking control of Ukraine’s northeastern city of Sumy as part of efforts to create a buffer zone along the border. “We have no objective to take Sumy, but in principle I do not rule it out… They pose a constant threat to us, constantly shelling the border areas,” Putin told Russia’s flagship economic forum in St. Petersburg. Sumy is around 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Russian border and has been heavily targeted since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.
