Ukrainian prisoners of war say they were tortured at Russian prison

Dyblenko told me that, in September, one of his cellmates suffered a heart attack, which he attributed to the constant physical abuse. No-one came to treat him, according to Dyblenko, and the man died, aged 53. Three weeks later, Dyblenko was included in a swap and, in Ukraine, reported the case to the authorities. The body, he said, was returned at the end of last year. “[His son] was given pictures of it,” Dyblenko said, “it was horrifying”. Ukraine acknowledged that bodies were exchanged in December, without giving details of the victims’ identities, or how and where they had died. The man’s son said he was waiting for the result of a DNA test and did not want to comment.