Families of Ukrainians taken prisoner by Russia desperate for news: ‘Please do not forget them’
Every week Karina checks the latest lists of dead Ukrainian servicemen to see if her brother, a prisoner of war, is included in it.
Her family last spoke to Sasha, a soldier, 31, two years ago when he was stationed at Azovstal steel plant, the site of the final Ukrainian stand against the Kremlin’s ferocious bombardment of Mariupol, which is now occupied by Russia. The frantic phone call occurred in the desperate closing of the battle. His mother Svetlana, 56 , in tears, says: “He essentially told us I love you and goodbye”.
The only proof of life the family has had since then was a message relayed by a fellow soldier released from Russian captivity last year in a prisoner swap. Sasha had been spotted
