A border guard from Kherson region. Olexiy Ryzhynenko spent 28 months in the Russian captivity.

“There are moments that I don't even want to talk about. They (the Russians) did terrible things. They only fed us once a day.  They would pour boiling water with half an onion ring floating in a disposable plate. I started to lose weight very rapidly. When I came back home to Ukraine I weighed 65 kgs in comparison to 95kg before Russian captivity. During 2 and a half years in the Russian captivity I was given apples, onion or garlic only a few times.

I can't describe my feelings when I saw the sign saying 'Welcome to Ukraine’. I wanted to cry and to shout!”