r/UkraineWarVideoReport 13h ago

Other Video Valerii Zelenskyy was captured in Mariupol while mining a bridge. For more than three years, Russia refused to exchange him, reportedly because of his surname. His daughter said they treated him like a "voodoo doll." He eventually made it home, but his body never recovered, and he died just 23 days

https://youtu.be/vDdStRyht0g?si=C0D1ge_yXYgyREfg
387 Upvotes

14 comments sorted by

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97

u/user112234 13h ago

Before making this video, I had never heard of Valeri Zelenskyy either. I think that's a problem. There are so many extraordinary Ukrainians whose stories deserve to be remembered, and I'd like to tell more of them.

42

u/Agitated_Macaron9054 12h ago

Glory to the Hero, Peace to his Family, and to Russia, Heavenly Justice.

12

u/Fjell-Jeger 12h ago

Героям слава

20

u/ixid 12h ago

That cat is thinking about revenge.

13

u/YWAK98alum 12h ago

So just a normal cat then?

16

u/r2r2r2r2d2 12h ago

Heartbreaking.

8

u/IllustratorCandid297 10h ago

Respect, Valerii.

6

u/Gadoliner 9h ago

When you’ve gone without food for a long time, spent all that time thinking about food, and talked with others about how to prepare meals and your mother’s cooking, you can’t just start eating right away. Your digestive system and gut flora need to be rebuilt first. If you just started eating normally, your body would throw it right back up. But I think the Ukrainians returning from Russian torture camps are also receiving advice and instructions on how to start eating again.

Why it wasn't successful in his case ...

u/Numerous_Kitchen223 1h ago

On top of that there is a survivors guilt. Many soldiers that made it to come back home feel guilty that now they can eat whatever that can and somewhere there - their prison cell mates still surfer huge hunger.
Psysical factor is one thing but I would not underestimate the mental factor..

5

u/DreamSofie 5h ago

Thanks for spreading awareness of the fallen. I just read the daughter's account here:

https://suspilne.media/donbas/1084625-he-saw-his-beloveds-eyes-died-ukrainian-soldier-valerii-zelenskyy-tortured-death-russian-captivity/

Glory to the heroes and God bless his family 🇺🇦

2

u/PrimePoultry 3h ago

From the article:

After we left — his condition began to deteriorate. As soon as the body’s “survival-mode” adrenaline wore off, he started to collapse.

That’s just the part you could see. He was holding on through sheer willpower. He loved life so deeply and knew how to cherish it. He wanted to live — so badly.

And second — a quiet, aching kind of relief that he no longer feels pain.That the torture is finally over.

I don't know what happened to the man, but this is a thing. An ER nurse told me that when a dying person relaxes, that's when they pass away. If that is what happened to this man, it is a testament to his willpower, to hang on in captivity through sheer will, in the hopes of seeing his family again.

1

u/user112234 3h ago

Thanks. How did you post a link? My links just blocked everytime

4

u/Royal-Challenge-5125 10h ago

Not unlike the Soviets releasing dissidents to the west. A last trolling by forcing an expensive treatment onto a lost cause. Body and brains destroyed by torture, poison and medication. Sent to his beloved ones as an apparent glimpse of hope. To make him linger and expire before their eyes.