This is the second part of the Kyiv Post interview with “SP.” See the first part here.
On May 16, the evacuation of Mariupol’s defenders from their final stronghold – the sprawling Azovstal steel plant – into Russian captivity began under a preliminary agreement. Russian forces had failed to seize the complex, but mounting numbers of wounded troops, dwindling medical supplies, and an order from Kyiv to preserve the lives of the defending troops forced the remaining units to lay down their arms.
Among them was a fighter with the call sign “SP,” an officer and deputy company commander who had lived in Mariupol long before Russia’s full-scale invasion and joined the city’s defense on the first day of the assault.
In the second part of this interview, SP recounts how his surrender into captivity unfolded – and what those who survived Russian captivity carry with them after returning home.
Kyiv Post: How did it happen? They announced the order and then what? Did you pack your things? How did it happen?
SP: We were informed of the order that by a certain date... Before that, there had been ceasefire regimes. The commander traveled to some settlement, I don’t remember which one anymore, where he spoke with the Russians. There were certain talks regarding further actions. And we were told that from such-and-such a period we had to surrender.
We tried, if there was any water left in places and if there was an opportunity, to at least put ourselves in some kind of order. Get haircuts, shave...
Then the Russians were shocked that you looked like you’d come from a barbershop, better than they did...
Yes, that happened. So we cleaned ourselves up, packed our things, water, food, and went.
“We looked at the road that had been repaired just before the war.”
And what did it look like?
Well, how do I explain it? A dual feeling. Why? Because you understand that you did everything possible and impossible to... distract and tie down a huge army in this sector, which would allow your country to patch up its defenses and survive such a war.
And on the other hand, you understand that your future is extremely uncertain, and you are forced in such conditions to lay down your arms and leave.
You came out and then what?
We came out. We looked at the plant, at the debris lying everywhere. [We] looked at the buildings that, literally three months earlier, had been full of life, and now lay in ruins.
We approached servicemen who, as I understand it, were from the [Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces] GRU. We handed over our weapons and put food into other KAMAZ trucks. We looked at the road that had been repaired just before the war.
I was surprised because there was a civilian passenger car there that had somehow driven very far in, maybe twenty meters [22 yards]. A light rain was falling. After we handed over our weapons at the plant exit, walking onto that road… handed over the weapons and loaded the food, we took our belongings and walked to the bridge.
After that, they questioned us about who we were by [ranks]. Since at that time I was already an officer, I surrendered with the rank of senior lieutenant. So they had a certain conversation with me there, asked a couple of questions. Then they checked my belongings. After that, I continued toward the buses that were waiting. Something like that.
And what date was it? The 16th?
No, I surrendered around the 20th, I think. So I was among the last ones, as I understand it.
So there was some kind of order for who exited when?
Yes, in sequence. First came the wounded. And the guys accompanying our wounded to carry them out, because at that time there were over 400 wounded. And there were guys carrying them. Most of them were bedridden. As I remember, I was somewhere in the third group. And after me, there were still other commanders.
“It was strange – you walk and gradually your belongings start disappearing bit by bit.”
And what happened afterward? Where were you taken by bus? How did it happen?
We were escorted by [armored personnel carriers] APCs in front and behind the buses. A couple of Ka-52 helicopters were flying above us, and the servicemen of the Russian Federation who escorted us were all kinds of people.
Even while I was walking on the bridge, a Russian guy saw my tactical goggles and immediately pocketed them. It was strange – you walk and gradually your belongings start disappearing bit by bit. Well, as I said, the whole situation caused incomprehensible emotions in which you can no longer do anything, but you have what you have. From Russian soldiers I learned that they were very surprised we were surrendering into captivity, because they thought we would try to break through fighting...
Can you talk about what happened in captivity?
Well, actually, I don’t like talking publicly about captivity exactly as it was. There are reasons for that. A lot of brothers-in-arms remain there, so...
I’ll say this. It’s not hard for me to discuss captivity as long as it’s not some kind of information leak. I don’t have some kind of victim syndrome or anything. But I hate populism.
It’s like war. Everyone has their own war. Infantry has its own reality of war. Artillerymen have their own war... Drone operators, and so on. The same applies to captivity. It depends on what year you were captured, your rank, branch of service, where you end up... That’s what your captivity will be like. It’s different for everyone, just like war. There was a lot in captivity, but there were also things like the fact that I read many books.
What did you read? How did it work there? Were they allowed to bring and transfer things? Or only what was already there?
I started reading in Olenivka, but at that time, I had only begun learning the Ukrainian language. It was a principled position for me. And there I read books written in Ukrainian because I wanted to catch up.
And they were in Ukrainian in the prison library?
No, brothers-in-arms brought them when surrendering into captivity. There was one guy who had a fairly large library in our battalion. And he brought that library to the headquarters of the first battalion at the very beginning.
So it was stored there. He gave people two or three books at a time. And these books entered Olenivka with our belongings. Then they circulated through our barracks.
And they didn’t confiscate them from you?
They didn’t confiscate them at first. In Olenivka, I could read in Ukrainian in 2022. But when I ended up in Horlivka in the second half of 2023, we already had to use their libraries. And there were all sorts of stuff there, Russian writers and so on. But, well, better than nothing.
Starting from Horlivka in 2023, I got lucky – in my cell, I began studying English a little, using Ukrainian. Then I read the Russian Federation political science textbooks that they use in universities. It was very interesting to understand how they think. Most of us who end up in such conditions try to use that lost time for self-development.
After returning from captivity, you returned to service. Why?
When I returned, actually I didn’t really want to continue serving, but then I looked at what was happening, what uncertain times these were. My brothers-in-arms asked me to come back sooner, and I returned.
Didn’t your fiancée say anything about that? She hadn’t seen you for three years.
She didn’t wait for me. We never saw each other again, yes. I’m okay with that because I was gone for two and a half years.
“I really do imagine my life once the war ends.”
Do you regret returning?
There’s more and more work, the salary is the same, haha! But, well, what can you do now? During wartime?
What are you doing now?
Now I’m the chief of staff of the 3rd International Battalion. It’s infantry support. Well, and not only infantry. For everyone.
What were your feelings when they started exchanging Azov fighters? I remember when the command staff was exchanged for [pro-Kremlin lawmaker Viktor] Medvedchuk, I was in Kharkiv at the time – the whole city was celebrating...
Of course everyone is happy for their brothers-in-arms, but at the same time, everyone in captivity always thinks: “Why wasn’t it me this time?” Everyone thinks about it; that’s how the psyche works. But objectively, in principle, we were happy that at least some of our people were being exchanged. Because it was still a good sign.
Do you make plans for after the war? Or do you not think about it?
Every day I imagine something for myself... You know, sometimes I meet with people engaged in other activities, and they discuss things... Because now everything is interconnected. Now, enormous amounts of money and huge quantities of equipment are needed to accomplish missions. And you’ve been here since 2015, and when people say something like “well, you only know how to fight,” you answer: “Well, who is supposed to replace me? I want to try something else.” But I’m not complaining.
Regarding service – Russia offers no compromises. So if you live in our country, there are no alternatives. But yes, I really do imagine my life once the war ends. I will have the moral right to resign, I will resign, and I will live my best civilian life.