A 23-year-old defender of Mariupol named Valeriy, who was recently released from russian captivity, has not seen his relatives since the exchange.
He was born in the currently occupied territories of Zaporizhia region, so he does not know the fate of his relatives or who he could call!
This was reported by journalist Yulia Surkova.
The man asked the journalists to tell a girl named Ruslana, who lives somewhere in Ukraine and whom they knew before the captivity, that he is alive.
“I’m going to cry now… Now I have a new task – to think up something to dream about again. For 3 years and 3 months, I dreamed of one thing – to be free,” says Valeriy.
Tags: EMPR Projects freedom dream human resilience Mariupol defender military projects POW story Russian captivity ukraine war
![Visitors at the “Thank You With All My Heart” Ukrainian exhibition at the Council of Europe, featuring the Great Amber Heart and powerful war art. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}](https://empr.media/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/heart-300x171.png)
