Russia Never Knew Who They Had Captured | Dmytro Melnyk | Episode 12

Dmytro Melnyk served in Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces and was captured in Mariupol in 2022.

For the first three months, the Russians didn’t even know he was a soldier. They believed he was a civilian. And until the very end of his captivity, they never discovered that he had served in the Special Operations Forces.

Inside the Russian prison system, Dmytro developed his own strategy for survival: never let the guards see his pain.

During beatings and torture, he tried to show almost no reaction — refusing to give his captors the satisfaction of seeing him suffer.

He was also forced to learn and sing the Russian national anthem. But Dmytro says he would never force Russian prisoners to sing Ukraine’s anthem.

For him, the Ukrainian anthem is something sacred — not something to be turned into an instrument of humiliation.

This is a story about captivity, self-control, psychological resistance, and a man who refused to give his captors the reaction they wanted.

These are not stories inspired by real events.

These are real events.

This audio was produced with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.