Ukrainian soldier survives five days with his throat cut before returning to positions (VIDEO)
A Ukrainian National Guard soldier named Vladyslav survived brutal torture by Russian forces, who slit his throat and threw him into a pit, believing he was dead, according to Sergii Ryzhenko, director general of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Clinical Hospital, and Ukraine’s national broadcaster Suspilne.
On August 17, Vladyslav was admitted to a medical facility in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in critical condition, suffering from severe blood loss and festering wounds.
“When someone’s throat is cut and they are bleeding out, there is little chance of survival. He held on until the end, but what sets him apart is that he was confident until the very end that everything would be fine,” said Ryzhenko.
Medical staff noted that in 11 years of war, this is the first time they have treated such an injury at their facility.
Vladyslav has undergone surgery, and doctors are working to restore his ability to speak.
He documented his ordeal in a diary, recalling how his brigade lost control of a position near Pokrovsk a few weeks earlier. While attempting to assist his brothers-in-arms, Vladyslav was captured.
According to his account, the first reconnaissance soldiers captured by Russian forces had their eyes gouged out, lips cut off, and genitals, ears, and noses mutilated. Vladyslav was the last of eight soldiers thrown into a pit by Russian troops, who believed all were dead.
“He says he was lucky because when they threw them into the pit, they dumped garbage on top to conceal it. There was a broken bottle, and with his hands tied, he managed to cut the rope with it,” said Viktoriia, Vladyslav’s wife.
After waiting for the Russian soldiers to leave, Vladyslav bandaged his throat with cloth and crawled for nearly five days to reach Ukrainian positions.
Despite his ordeal, Vladyslav is already thinking about returning to the front, according to his brother Yevhen: “He writes, ‘So those beasts feel what I and those seven of our Cossack brothers felt.’”
Above all, Vladyslav dreams of seeing his four-year-old daughter.