Soldier of Fortune Magazine The Journal of Professional Adventurers
As officials in Ukraine report fresh waves of drone attacks on Odesa, people inside the embattled region recall ongoing attacks that have destroyed families and cities, and have left some at the mercy of brutal sadists.
“We do not forget how Russians sent people who enjoy this cruelty,” one contact told Soldier of Fortune. Speaking via a secure messaging service, the contact recounted the story of Serhiy Mak, who was tortured in Kherson in 2022.
“Listen to his story,” the contact said. “It will give you chills.”
Mak, a Ukrainian, said he was locked in the cellar of an office building for 25 days in Kherson, southern Ukraine, where he was tortured by a Russian man nicknamed “The Specialist.”
“They sat me down in a chair, chained me with handcuffs to the heating pipe, and began to torture me,” Mak said.
The prisoner was forced to take part in a propaganda video, and to say that his fellow Ukrainians surrendered to Russian forces.
Mak spoke to RFE/RL’s Serhiy Andrushko in December 2022, shortly after Ukrainian forces liberated the city from Russian occupation.
Watch Mak’s story, below.
