Ukrainian soldier reveals shocking war injuries after POW was captured by Russian forces in besieged Mariupol
A UKRAINIAN soldier has revealed his shocking war injuries after the PoW was captured by Russian forces in the besieged town of Mariupol.
Mykhailo Dianov was held captive by Mad Vlad's troops for almost four months before being released with 215 others in a prisoner exchange this week.
To show the shocking treatment he endured, a photo of him at the Azovstal steel plant smiling with an arm bandage and flashing a peace sign was twinned up with a picture of him following his release.
The latest photo shows the free Ukrainian smiling but extremely emaciated and pale with scars and bruises on his arm and face.
According to Ukrainian press, his right arm remains unhealed and is missing 4cm of bone.
Dianov was released in a miracle prisoner swap brokered by Saudi Arabia.
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The exchange saw Russia receive 56 soldiers in return. Among them was Putin's long-time pal and right-hand man in Ukraine, Viktor Medvedchuk.
Since his release, Dianov has been receiving medical treatment in a city hospital in Chernihiv and has been reunited with his family and friends.
One Ukrainian journalist who commented on the "terrifying" images online said he has "no words" to describe what he was seeing.
"Mykhailo Dianov, a musician and a Ukrainian soldier recently released in a prisoner exchange.
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"First photo — Mykhailo during the siege of Azovstal. Second photo — Mykhailo after Russian captivity. I have no words. Terrifying."
Another said they were "physically hurt" by seeing Dianov.
"What these unbreakable people have survived. They need our help now," they wrote.
Among those released in the swap were Dianov's commander Denis Prokopenko, his deputy Svyatoslav Palamar, and Marine commander Serhiy Volynsky and Kateryna "Birdie" Polishchuk - whose singing inside the Azovstal steel works inspired many.
Captive Brit fighters Shaun Pinner, 48, and Aiden Aslin, 28, and John Harding, 59, were also released as part of the deal and have safely returned to the UK.
The men were part of the 2,000-strong Azov battalion captured during the battle of Mariupol and were interned into Russian prison camps that have been likened to concentration camps.
Their release has drawn the ire of hardline Kremlin supporters who have been calling on Azov members to be executed.
In total, Russia agreed to release 215 prisoners, including five Azov commanders and 10 foreign prisoners.
Ukrainian defenders of the Azov Regiment held out in seven miles of bomb-proof tunnels at the Azovstal plant in May.
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Aerial images following their surrendered showed smashed and smoking ruins, which bore testament to their courage under a blizzard of Russian missiles, bombs and bullets.
They left after Red Cross and UN officials brokered a deal to swap them for captured Russians.
