A Ukrainian soldier who was held as a prisoner of war by the Russians has been raised more than a hundred thousand dollars.

One of the 215 PoWs freed in a surprise prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia was a musician. Reports say that the swap was brokered by Saudi Arabia.

The photos of Dianov shared by the Ukrainian military show him in a poor state of health.

He shows his arm to the camera with a ragged scar over his elbow.

The scar on his arm was caused by rusty pliers being used to pull something out of his arm, according to his sister.

—Illia Ponomarenko🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) September 23, 2022

She said that Mykhailo is very strong. He is overjoyed that he is back. He said he was walking and breathing cleanly.

Over five million Ukrainian hryvnias have been raised to help with Dianov's medical expenses according to Illia Ponomarenko.

Russian captors were brutal, say POWs

Aiden Aslin, 28, a British man released by Russia in POW swap on September 22, 2022
Aiden Aslin, 28, (right) a British man released by Russia in POW swap on September 22, 2022
Reuters

Some of the POWs freed this week gave accounts of being tortured by their Russian abductors.

According to the Sun on Sunday, a British man who was freed after being held in solitary confinement for five months said he was treated worse than a dog.

The southern port city of Mariupol was under siege by the Russians for more than two months.

He asked if he wanted a beautiful death after he was stabbed and punched.

The prisoners were kept in overcrowded cells and had to sing the Russian anthem. You would be punished for not singing it. He said you would get beat.

The man who was freed in June told The Times that the Russians tortured people so badly that they broke a limb or a lung.

There was a man who had a heart attack and passed out. He was pulled to the side by them. They don't know what happened to him.

The UN has previously said that Russian trials of Ukrainian prisoners of war could be war crimes, and that they haveuffered torture and ill-treatment, and in some places lack adequate food, water, and healthcare.