A Dream Born in Russian Captivity | Maxym Levchenko

Oleksandr Savov survived Russian captivity and finally returned home in 2025. But captivity had already taken an enormous toll on his body. After years of inhumane treatment, Oleksandr came home severely weakened. He wanted to exercise again and rebuild his strength, but doctors warned him that his body was simply too fragile. Even the first moments with his family were shaped by what captivity had done to him. His daughter Anastasiia couldn’t simply hug her father when he returned — Oleksandr had contracted active tuberculosis while in captivity. A few months after his release, he died. Now Anastasiia is telling the story her father can no longer tell himself. She shares what Oleksandr told her about Russian captivity, including the punishment cell prisoners called “the rubber room,” the treatment he endured, and his struggle to return to a normal life after coming home. While her father was still a prisoner, Anastasiia began advocating for Ukrainian POWs. She continues that work today — fighting for those who remain in captivity and making sure her father’s voice does not disappear with his death. Because release from captivity does not always mean the suffering is over. And because these stories must continue to be told. These are not stories inspired by real events. These are real events. ▶ Watch Anastasiia tell her father’s story in her own words. Extended interviews are available on Patreon Subscribe to True War Crime for more firsthand testimonies about Russian captivity. #TrueWarCrime #Ukraine #Russia #POW #RussianCaptivity This audio was produced with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.

Before Russia’s full-scale invasion, Maxym Levchenko was an athlete who practiced kickboxing. Years of training had conditioned his body to withstand physical punishment — something that unexpectedly helped him survive repeated beatings in Russian captivity. But even a trained body has its limits. By the end of his imprisonment, Maxym had lost a significant amount of weight. In this episode, Maxym takes us back to Mariupol in 2022, where Russian forces were destroying the city around him. He recalls the events that led to his capture and the Russians’ promises that prisoners would be treated properly. The reality inside Russian prisons was very different. Maxym describes the violence, hunger, humiliation, and conditions he was forced to endure. But captivity also gave birth to something unexpected — a dream about what he would do if he ever returned home. At the time, freedom seemed impossibly far away. Maxym survived. He came home. And he made that dream a reality. These are not stories inspired by real events. These are real events. ▶ Watch Maxym Levchenko tell his story in his own words. Extended and uncensored interviews are available on Patreon Subscribe to True War Crime for more firsthand testimonies from survivors of Russian captivity. #TrueWarCrime #Ukraine #Russia #Mariupol #POW #WarCrimes Keywords: Maxym Levchenko, Mariupol 2022, Russian captivity, Ukrainian POW, Russian prisons, kickboxing, Russian torture, Mariupol siege, POW testimony, Ukraine war, war crimes, survivor testimony, True War Crime This audio was produced with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.

Dmytro Melnyk served in Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces and was captured in Mariupol in 2022. For the first three months, the Russians didn’t even know he was a soldier. They believed he was a civilian. And until the very end of his captivity, they never discovered that he had served in the Special Operations Forces. Inside the Russian prison system, Dmytro developed his own strategy for survival: never let the guards see his pain. During beatings and torture, he tried to show almost no reaction — refusing to give his captors the satisfaction of seeing him suffer. He was also forced to learn and sing the Russian national anthem. But Dmytro says he would never force Russian prisoners to sing Ukraine’s anthem. For him, the Ukrainian anthem is something sacred — not something to be turned into an instrument of humiliation. This is a story about captivity, self-control, psychological resistance, and a man who refused to give his captors the reaction they wanted. These are not stories inspired by real events. These are real events. This audio was produced with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.

Arslan Annaiev spent more than two years in Russian captivity. In this episode, he describes in detail how Russian forces stormed the position he was defending — the battle that ended with his capture and the beginning of his journey through the Russian prison system. One day stands out above all others. During torture, Russian guards shocked Arslan with a stun gun so many times that he eventually lost count of the marks it left on his body. But physical violence was only part of the pressure. Arslan recalls prisoners being forced to listen to recordings featuring Western pro-Russian bloggers and propagandists — an attempt to influence Ukrainian POWs and manipulate their perception of the war and the outside world. In Pakino prison, Arslan also encountered someone unexpected: American civilian Stephen Hubbard, who remains imprisoned in Russia. Arslan shares what he remembers about Hubbard and what it was like to encounter an American civilian inside the Russian prison system. These are not stories inspired by real events. These are real events. Extended and uncensored version available on Patreon Subscribe to True War Crime for more firsthand testimonies from survivors of Russian captivity. #TrueWarCrime #Ukraine #Russia #POW #WarCrime This audio was produced with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.

During an interrogation in Russian captivity, Ihor Humeniak was stabbed in the back with a knife. He witnessed Ukrainian Greek Catholic priests being beaten because of their faith. He saw violence, humiliation, and many other abuses committed against prisoners. But there is something unexpected about the way Ihor tells his story today. He laughs. Not because what happened was funny. But after surviving it all, he can now look back at many of the horrors of captivity with humor — refusing to let those experiences define or break him. In Episode 10 of True War Crime, Ihor speaks about torture, faith, the absurdity of his captors, and the experiences that once terrified him but that he can now sometimes laugh about. His story is not only about what was done to him. It is about what his captors failed to take away. These are not stories inspired by real events. These are real events. Thank you for supporting True War Crime. Your support helps preserve the testimonies of those who survived Russian captivity and ensures their stories are heard around the world. This audio was produced with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.

Before 2022, Ruslan Odaiskyi was a merchant ship captain who traveled the world. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he left that life behind and volunteered to defend his country. Captured by Russian forces, Ruslan endured brutal torture and a long journey through captivity. Yet inside the prison cell, he became a source of hope for the other prisoners. Drawing on memories of the countries he had visited and the people he had met around the world, he transported his fellow captives beyond the prison walls—if only through stories. His testimony is a story of resilience, friendship, and the power of hope, even in the darkest moments. These are not stories inspired by real events. These are real events. Thank you for supporting True War Crime. Your support helps preserve the testimonies of those who survived Russian captivity and ensures their stories are heard around the world.

Andrii Stratiichuk is a former Ukrainian police officer who volunteered to defend Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. Captured during combat, he was taken into the Russian prison system, where he discovered a disturbing reality: Russian criminals have legal rights. Ukrainian prisoners of war have virtually none. Because Andrii had a Trident tattoo—Ukraine's national emblem—he became a target for especially brutal beatings. During interrogations, Russian guards repeatedly staged mock executions, trying to break him psychologically. This episode reveals how violence, humiliation, and fear are used as systematic tools against Ukrainian POWs. These are not stories inspired by real events. These are real events.

This is Episode 7 of True War Crime — a series of firsthand testimonies from people who survived Russian captivity. Our guest is Tom Dychok, an ethnic Pole who lived and worked in Poland for five years before Russia's full-scale invasion. After being captured, Tom endured relentless physical and psychological abuse. His captors shot him through both palms, tortured him, and tried to break his spirit. Instead, his Catholic faith became stronger. In one of the Russian prisons, Ukrainian prisoners were forced to build coffins for Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine—using wooden crates that had originally carried Grad multiple rocket launcher ammunition. This is one man's story of survival, faith, and the disturbing reality hidden behind the walls of Russia's prison system. These are not stories inspired by real events. These are real events.

This is Episode 6 of True War Crime — a series of real stories from people who survived Russian captivity. Our guest, Yulii Pylypei, spent 2.5 years in Russian prisons. To survive psychologically, he held on to one simple dream: traveling with his wife once he was free. Despite being an ordinary soldier defending his country, Yulii says prison guards treated him worse than a convicted child rapist serving a 17-year sentence. His testimony offers a rare glimpse into some of the darkest corners of Russia's prison system — where brutality, humiliation, and psychological pressure became part of everyday life. These are not stories inspired by real events.

This is Episode 5 of True War Crime — a series of real stories from people who survived Russian captivity. When Yevhenii Malik was captured, an unexpected image came to his mind — a scene from Lethal Weapon, where Mel Gibson's character is suspended by his arms before being tortured. What seemed like a movie scene became reality. Yevhenii went through the hell of Russian prisons and torture chambers. In this episode, he speaks openly and without censorship about what happened to him, what he witnessed, and how he survived. Some stories sound too brutal to be true. Unfortunately, these are not scenes from a movie.