Dmytro Kurakin was a Marine Corps sergeant of the 36th Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilynsky Marine Brigade. He came to Mariupol several months before the beginning of the Russian full scale invasion. At that point, when he and his brothers in arms were defending Mariupol from the Russian invaders they were encircled. They had not expected that Russian aviation would be so effective and there were Russian tanks, artillery and rifles on all sides. The Ukrainian supplies of ammunition and food were running out and they had to defend themselves with just machine guns and hand grenades.

 

By April Dmytro’s unit was cut off from the main troops. They decided to break through and made three attempts – the first two failed and after the third they only managed to get about 15 km before the Russians attacked using direct artillery fire, aviation and drones. At midnight they were taken prisoner. The marines had to line up and the Russians robbed them of whatever they could: silver and golden crosses with chains from their necks, golden wedding rings. It was pillage. Then the POWs were put into barracks in Sartana, a village to the east of Mariupol. They were given a little food and even cigarettes. There were 300 POWS, held like sardines as there was not enough space. There was no medical assistance for the wounded and certainly no Red Cross representatives. The Russians stopped giving them water. The POWs had to drink condensate that accumulated in the room due to the great number of people in such a tight space. The water that was gathered in a jar was a real treasure and each prisoner could take only one sip.

 

In two days the Russians tied their hands and blindfolded them all and brought them to Olenivka, though Dmytro only found out the name of the place later. Then it all started. First of all, they had to go through the “hot” corridor. What did that mean? There were 50 Special Forces soldiers on both sides of the corridor. The POW was taken out of a KAMAZ and asked, “What was your position in the army?” Dmytro answered, “Flamethrower”. And a Russian cried out, “Let’s meet a flamethrower”. And the POW had to run along this “hot” corridor while the Russians beat them with whatever they had – chains, belts, stools, metal bars, fence posts. They would beat you on your face, your body, your arms, your legs, your feet. They didn’t even spare men over 50. Dmytro saw 4 four POWs who were killed right there in the hot corridor.

 

Then those who survived the hot corridor were taken to the barracks. They had to undress and stand naked and were made to shout, “Glory to Russian Donbas”.

 

The marines spent one week in Olenivka. Then at midnight they were taken out of their barracks. They hoped for a prisoner exchange but the Russians tied up their hands with cable ties and threw them into lorries. Someone asked, “Are you taking us to execution?” And the reply was, “No, you’ll be imprisoned for life. You will rot here”.

 

They were taken to Russia. Dmytro spent six months in a Russian prison. His cell was next to the cell where the Russians tortured prisoners and Dmytro heard everything. He was taken to be interrogated every day as well. The Russians tried to persuade him that Ukraine did not exist any more and said that the Russians had captured everywhere apart from Kyiv and Lviv. They told Dmytro that his father had been killed near Kherson. Dmytro’s father was a serviceman and the Russians knew it. They also told him that his mother and sister were already in Russia. They demanded he sign a paper saying that he wanted to fight on the side of the Russian Army. They promised to let him go immediately if he signed it. Dmytro refused. He wanted to be exchanged.

 

Dmytro spent 10 months in Russian captivity and lost 40 kg. When he returned to Ukraine his weight was 50 kg. He was exchanged in February 2023. After rehabilitation he is serving at the Marine recruiting centre.