Ukrainian paramedic Yulia Paievska was motivated to keep fighting after a call from Prince Harry.
Prince Harry showed his support for the Ukrainians by calling paramedic Yulia Paievska after she was freed from being held hostage. MISC
Prince Harry has called a Ukrainian soldier, reports the Daily Mail. Russian soldiers had abducted someone who had signed up as a volunteer nurse Yulia Paevska53, in March, when he was on his way to treat injured people after the bombing of a theater in Mariupol.
Paievska says that the Russians held her prisoner for three months while torturing her. A call with Prince Harry had inspired him to “keep fighting” for his country. Harry had called Paievska a week after his release. According to him, Harry spoke “strongly and sincerely” about the conflict in Ukraine.
– He said he supports Ukraine and each of us, Paievska says.
Paievska tells the Daily Mail that she was regularly interrogated on behalf of Russian soldiers. He was also lied to about the situation in the country of Ukraine. He was offered only half a glass of water a day and his underlying illnesses were not treated.
As the imprisonment progressed, she says that she was put in an increasingly smaller women’s cell, the dimensions of which were only about 3 x 6 meters. According to Paievska, in those cells, prisoners were abused and tortured with electricity.
– I had no information about what was happening in the outside world. I didn’t even know if my family was alive or if my house was saved, because the Russians were already in Kiev when we left, Paievska recalls.
Yulia Paievska (right) was held hostage by Russian soldiers for three months. Photo of Kyiv from February 2021. PDO
Paievska says that Russian guards fed the hostages false information that Ukraine was losing the war. According to Paievska, the prisoners had also been told that the rest of the world had not intervened in the war or Russia’s activities.
The paramedic who was taken hostage had practiced exercise and meditation in solitary confinement in order to maintain his mental and physical health. Although being held hostage caused permanent trauma to Paievska, she still plans to continue to defend Ukraine.
Paievska was supposed to participate in the Invictus Games sponsored by Prince Harry, but was imprisoned during the event. This is why Paievska’s 19-year-old daughter Anna-Sofia Puzanova competed in archery for him and won bronze in the competition. Puzanova brought up her mother’s fate in the competition, as a result of which Harry called Paievska.
– I am very grateful to Harry because the Russians stopped the interrogations and torture after the Invictus Games. I think spreading the word around the world influenced their decision, Paievska concludes.
Source: Daily Mail