“We weren’t human beings there. We weren’t even animals.” Ukrainian sniper Oleh Pidsutkevych spent nearly three years in russian captivity. For the first time, he has spoken openly about the horrors he endured. When he thought he was about to be executed, he closed his eyes, said goodbye to his family in his mind, and begged them to shoot him in the head. Captured on June 25, 2022, after russian forces surrounded his position, Oleh watched two of his comrades being executed on the spot. He was taken to a detention center in occupied Luhansk. 28 men in one cell. Two half-broken plastic spoons. Bread filled with sand and maggots, picked clean before they could eat it. No clothes until late October. Until then, they wrapped themselves in bedsheets. Torture was routine. Guards randomly selected 20 prisoners at a time and took them away. Oleh had electrical wires connected to his ears. Using a field telephone, his torturers cranked the handle until he felt his head might tear apart. “They did whatever they wanted to us. We weren’t human beings there. We weren’t even animals. We were just creatures without rights.” He didn't believe he was finally free until he stepped off the plane in Belarus. Some men sang. Others screamed with joy. Oleh sat down and silently lit a cigarette. Back home, he took down his own portrait from Ukraine’s Alley of Hope, where it had hung for 33 months. He will keep it for the rest of his life. He survived nearly three years of russian captivity. Now he faces another battle: learning how to live in freedom.

He survived. His owner didn’t. Yesterday in Kyiv, rescuers pulled this little dog alive from the rubble. He’ll wait for the woman who will never open the door again.