Russia’s invasion forced Ukrainian men of all ages to the frontlines, most with no experience of combat. Tracy McVeigh spoke to five soldiers about how life in the army transformed them and their relationships
After his mother died when he was very young, Valentyn Polianskyi was raised in the Kherson region by his aunt and his grandmother.
Now 24, he says he felt a little embarrassed by his love of sewing clothes, believing it was “more for women than men” so after studying tailoring at university he signed a contract with the 36th marine brigade, where he served as a material support sergeant.
He met a girl and they fell in love so quickly that within months they were engaged. “We were at the flowers and candy stage,” he says. When the Russian invasion came on 24 February 2022 he was deployed in Mariupol, at the Illich steel plant.
The seaport city was battered and besieged; tens of thousands of Ukrainians were killed and 90% of the city was destroyed. On 12 April, as his unit was told by their commander to surrender to avoid being wiped out, Polianskyi learned his girlfriend was pregnant. It was the 48th day of war when he was taken into Russian captivity, and Polianskyi spent the next three years being beaten, starved, tortured and poisoned.
