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Seven months in captivity has scarred the soldier for life – but the physical injuries was never the worst part.
Seven months in captivity has scarred the soldier for life – but the physical injuries was never the worst part.
Igor’s Nightmare Begins
In 2022, Ukrainian soldier Igor Platonov was captured by Russian forces during the brutal battle for Mariupol.
What followed was a harrowing seven-month ordeal in a series of Russian detention centers, where Igor learned that ““There’s something far worse than torture.”
And now, Igor has told his story to the Dutch media, AD,
A False Sense of Safety
When Igor first surrendered, he clung to the hope that the Russians would uphold the Geneva Conventions.
His captors initially appeared civil, even offering him a cigarette. But the illusion of decency shattered quickly.
Stripped of all of value
As he boarded the bus to prison, guards stripped him of all personal items, including gold, crosses, and wedding rings—an act he describes as deeply humiliating.
Olenivka: The Infamous Prison
Igor was taken to the notorious Olenivka prison near Donetsk. Upon arrival, he and other prisoners were forced to strip naked for full-body searches.
Designed to break you
It was just the beginning of the dehumanization process.
“They took everything from us,” Igor recalls speaking to AD. “It was designed to break us before we even entered the cells.”
The Harsh Reality
Igor soon realized there would be no quick release.
Instead, he was shuttled between 12 different detention centers, always blindfolded tightly with tape, hands bound behind his back, and thrown into truck beds like livestock.
At each new prison, he was greeted with immediate, brutal violence.
The ‘Priyomka’ Ritual
Every transfer brought with it a savage initiation known as “priyomka,” described by a UN human rights rapporteur as prolonged, cruel beatings.
Move quick, or they hit harder
Igor explains to AD, that you don’t know what is happening, but you simply fall to the ground and are instantly beaten.
And if you don’t move quickly enough, the hits will be harder. If you collapse, you are beat more – and some prisoners never com up again.
Broken Bones
The physical toll was devastating. Igor lost all his teeth, suffered multiple fractures—including in his spine, jaw, ribs, and right leg—and endured long-term internal damage.
Humiliation cuts the deepest
But, he insists, physical pain wasn’t the worst part.
According to him, the humiliation cuts even deeper than any physical injury.
Humiliation as Entertainment
In a particularly cruel twist, prisoners were forced to entertain their captors.
At one center in Kursk, they had to cluck like chickens, sing on command, and even run naked.
A Ritual of Dehumanization
Guards seemed to take pleasure in degrading the prisoners. Igor was shaved violently several times, sometimes losing pieces of skin in the process.
Igor is certain that it was never about control, but to simply strip prisoners of any dignity, they might have had left.
Torture and Interrogations
Eventually, Igor was subjected to interrogations where physical abuse resumed.
He was also hooked up to a lie detector—a moment he described as “incredibly stressful.”
A Glimmer of Hope
After seven months of suffering, Igor was told he would be released. At first, he didn’t believe it; he’d heard those words before, only to be crushed by disappointment.
But as the violence eased, he began to hope. As he describes it, it seemed like the guards were trying to cover any signs of abuse.
Freedom, But Not Peace
In late November 2022, a prisoner exchange finally brought Igor home. Physically free but emotionally scarred, he admits he can no longer trust people as he once did
He does simply not believe, he will ever be the same again.
The Deepest Wound: Hatred
What remains is a searing hatred for those who abused him.
“They’re not human,” Igor said of his captors. “Humans don’t do things like that. They are creatures from hell.”
