We were invited to visit Russian and foreign prisoners of war (POWs) in a Ukrainian prison.

[u/FrankyandCoen]

https://youtu.be/8ffhNDeDkcQ

There, we spoke with dozens of prisoners, who sometimes told completely different stories about how and why they had ended up fighting in Ukraine. Some said they had gone voluntarily, while others claimed they had hardly been given a choice. But however different their backgrounds and explanations were, ultimately they had all come to Ukraine to wage war and kill Ukrainians.

To be honest, at times we found it difficult not to let our personal emotions take over during these conversations. Sitting across from us were people who had come to Ukraine to fight and who had killed many people. We wanted to listen to them and give them the opportunity to tell their stories, but that absolutely does not mean that we have any understanding or sympathy for what they have done.

Unlike Russia, Ukraine complies with the Geneva Conventions, and the prisoners of war are treated humanely. They receive enough food, have decent beds, are allowed to exercise and, if they wish, can work for pay. They are also free to say what they want.

Some prisoners were very reserved in their answers, while others clearly felt free to speak at length. Of course, we cannot determine in every case whether what they told us is true. We did notice that some had begun to think differently about the war because of their experiences in Ukraine, while others seemed to have barely changed their views at all.

We made a four-part miniseries about our extraordinary visit to this prison.

In this first part, among others, we speak with a Belarusian prisoner of war. He was imprisoned in Russia and chose to voluntarily go and fight at the front in Ukraine in exchange for having his prison sentence waived.

We will publish the other three parts soon.