Foreign Policy Research Institute A Nation Must Think Before it Acts Part 2 | Surviving Two Years in Russian Captivity

Part 2 | Surviving Two Years in Russian Captivity

  • June 10, 2025

In this special two part episode of Chain Reaction, Senior Fellow Rob Lee interviews Yevgeniy Malik, a squad leader in Ukraine’s 36th Marine Brigade. Malik fought in Mariupol during the beginning of the war and defended the Illich Iron and Steel Works. He spent more than two years in captivity in Russia as a prisoner of war from April 2022 to September 2024.

In Part 2, Yevgeniy details his time in captivity in Russia’s Mordovia prison, the circumstances of his eventual release in a prisoner exchange in September 2024, and reflects on his ordeal and the conflict as a whole.

Listen to Part 1 here.

Please be advised that this episode contains content that may be disturbing to some listeners.

Related Program(s)

Eurasia Program

Related Multimedia(s)

Part 1 | Surviving Two Years in Russian Captivity