From Journalist to Prisoner of War

As a journalist and human rights advocate, he had dedicated his life to protecting the freedom of others. But when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, he made a new choice: he enlisted as a soldier. Shortly afterwards, he and his unit were caught in an ambush in Eastern Ukraine and taken captive.

Torture with a Purpose

It started with beatings and threats. But the goal quickly became clear: the Russian soldiers wanted a confession. Not for anything Butkevych had done, but to fabricate a war crime. “They said, ‘You think you’re a prisoner of war? You’re missing. No one will know if we shoot you’,” he tells TheGuardian.

In an abandoned building outside Luhansk, he was faced with grotesque abuse and sadistic behavior. Under threats of rape and execution, he was given the choice between confessing or facing his fate. He chose to sign. “I didn’t even know what I was confessing to. It was only later that I was told it involved two civilian women in a village I had never been to.”

A Trial Without Justice

Following the torture was a farcical trial, where a bogus defender signed papers on his behalf. The charge: war crimes. The sentence: 13 years in a penal colony with hard labor. In Luhansk, he was daily reminded of the system’s brutality. Even when a lawyer in Moscow could prove he was in Kyiv at the time of the alleged crime, he was summarily dismissed.

A Cynical Method

Maksym Butkevych’s case is not unique. According to several reports, thousands of Ukrainians remain in Russian captivity under similar conditions.

The Russian prison camp became a reflection of the worldview he believes Russia is trying to impose on Ukraine: obedience, humiliation, and loss of human dignity.

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