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Ukrainian Soldier Crawls for Days With Throat Wound After Torture in Russian Captivity—And Survives
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
A 33-year-old National Guard serviceman named Vladyslav is recovering in a hospital in the Dnipropetrovsk region after surviving torture in Russian captivity.
He sustained a severe throat wound, was thrown into a pit among other prisoners, and then crawled for nearly five days to reach Ukrainian positions.
According to Suspilne, Vladyslav was taken prisoner near Pokrovsk a few weeks ago when his unit lost control of its position. In his written notes, the soldier recalled that Russian forces tortured the first captured reconnaissance fighters, mutilating their faces and bodies.
Vladyslav himself was subjected to torture and left for dead with seven other servicemen in a pit. He was the only one to survive.
His wife Viktoria said that after being thrown into the pit, Vladyslav managed to cut through the ropes binding his hands with a shard of glass from a broken bottle. He then tied a piece of cloth around his throat wound and crawled for days until he reached Ukrainian troops.
On August 17, he was admitted to a medical facility in critical condition with heavy blood loss and infected wounds.
The hospital’s general director, Serhii, said that surgeons had already performed an operation and will continue reconstructive treatment to restore the soldier’s ability to speak and breathe independently. He added that this is the first such case treated in the hospital during the 11 years of war.
Vladyslav is now under medical supervision and continues to communicate through writing. His relatives say that despite the severity of his injuries, he is considering returning to the front once his health allows. For now, his main wish is to reunite with his four-year-old daughter.
Earlier, a Ukrainian paratrooper named Andrii, captured after being wounded in Donetsk, spent over 14 months in Russian captivity, where he was tortured, electrocuted, and had “Glory to Russia” burned into his stomach by a military surgeon.
According to his first interview after being exchanged in May 2025, he endured multiple beatings, starvation, and psychological abuse in a prison colony in occupied Donbas before finally returning home to see his daughter.
