Survivor’s Story: Olena Yahupov on her fight for Ukrainians in Captivity

I, Olena Volodymyrivna Yahupova, was captured by Russian forces during the full-scale invasion in 2022, where I endured torture, physical and psychological abuse, sexual violence, and forced labor. 

After my release from captivity, I was granted the status of a person deprived of personal liberty, a victim of human trafficking, and a Group II disability as a result of my captivity. While in captivity, I suffered a craniocerebral and spinal injury; I underwent multiple operations involving cervical spine implants. I live with many lasting consequences of Russian torture, abuse, and rape. 

When I regained my freedom, I made a promise to myself to testify and document the crimes committed by Russian perpetrators, and to help search for and free all those Ukrainian civilians who remain in captivity. I am engaged in civic and human rights advocacy, defending the rights and freedoms of civilian hostages, and working to involve European government representatives in advocacy and mentorship efforts aimed at securing the release of civilians. 

My main motivation is my traumatic experience, which will never allow me to forget the crimes committed by Russians. I direct all my strength toward the fight for the release of Ukrainian civilians. I work closely with Ukrainian and European media, giving statements and testimony about the horrific war crimes of the Russian Federation. 

I speak about this because I have personally lived through this horror. 

What the occupiers are doing to peaceful civilians cannot be put into words. They torture people with electric shocks, suffocate them with gas, break their arms and legs, crush their kidneys and ribs, rape them, kill them, and stab them like livestock. 

I did not break in prison because I set myself a goal: to survive and to do everything possible to ensure that the criminals who came to my land are punished. People who have gone through the hell that I have must tell the entire civilized world about the crimes being committed against Ukrainian civilians. We have no right to remain silent. 

Throughout my captivity, I dreamed of seeing the flag of my Ukraine, which is always in my heart. I love my Ukraine, and every day I do everything I can to bring victory closer. We will win, and we will certainly rebuild Ukraine, because we are strong and free—because we are Ukrainians. 

Photo: 2025. De Sheng Lim.