Journalist and blogger Apostol Dmitry Karpenko interviewed over one and a half thousand captured Russians after the beginning of the full-scale invasion. As reported by Glavkom, on the channel Iceland, Karpenko shared how one story he heard from an occupier truly shocked him.
Karpenko was especially struck by the account of captive Roman Chernikov. The man drowned his six-year-old adopted daughter because he wanted to calmly hang out with his friends. He then hid the girl's body in a shed for a week until his relatives forced him to confess the truth. The daughter was cremated, and her ashes scattered in four locations. When the truth surfaced, Chernikov was imprisoned, and he ended up in the war in Ukraine.
«There are many such stories, and it is simply impossible to listen to them calmly. I want to ask Russians: «Are you even human?», – shares his impressions Dmitry Karpenko.
Also, one of the captured Russians admitted that he went to war with the aim of getting married and obtaining citizenship of the Russian Federation.
Last prisoner exchange
On July 23, the ninth stage of the prisoner exchange took place, which was agreed upon in Istanbul. This time, severely wounded and sick Ukrainian defenders returned home.
The interview with the captured Russians struck not only with the stories themselves but also with how they managed to find themselves in such dire situations. These stories are a testament to how war can change a person and lead to the most unexpected events and actions.