Iván Petrovskyi was 30 years old and had a young daughter when he was captured in Mariupol.
It was May 2022, and Russian forces were advancing on the city that he and his National Guard unit were trying to defend. What came next were 1037 days in captivity: first in the penal colony in Olenivka, then in Volgograd, Russia. His wife, his two children and his parents could only wait, not knowing whether they would ever see him again.
On March 19, as part of an exchange of 175 prisoners of war, Iván set foot on Ukrainian soil again. On Instagram, he shared two photos: one from before, in his uniform and with his body intact, and one from after, 40 kilograms lighter. “I’m home. The difference is 1037 days in captivity and 40 kilograms less”, he wrote alongside the images. His mother told the Ukrinform news agency that he is already receiving treatment for the health problems he brought back from captivity. What matters now is that his children have him close again.