If his health allows, Andrei Pereverzev, a soldier from the 79th separate airborne assault brigade, who returned from captivity with the inscription “Glory to Russia” burned into his body, plans to return to service.
He talked about this said in an interview with United24.
Andrey was captured in February 2024. At that time, he was in position, repelling the assaults of the invaders. However, at one point, a grenade exploded next to him, injuring him.
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At first, the soldier thought that the explosion had blown off his legs, since he couldn't feel them. The Russians who pulled him out of the dugout were also surprised that he survived after not breathing and having no pulse.
After some time, he was taken to Russian positions, where he was examined, but no assistance was provided.
“Basically, the scars I have now were open bleeding wounds back then. I think I was constantly losing consciousness due to blood loss,” says Andrey.
Afterwards, he says, the Russians “congratulated” him so that he “wouldn’t forget where he was” by hitting him on the head with a five-liter plastic water bottle: “That was their ‘welcome.’”
When the soldier came to his senses again, they began interrogating him. According to Andrei Pereverzev, he knew that they would try to “break” him, so he began “telling them fairy tales,” making up answers to their questions.
“When they found out what unit I was from, it really pissed them off. They were furious,” Andrey says.
Andrey Pereverzev on torture in captivity
As Pereverzev recounts, the torture continued until the morning of the next day – during this time the occupiers administered electric shocks to the soldier's open wounds. After that, he was sent to the hospital, where he underwent surgery.
When a Russian nurse came to Andrey to change the bandage, she told him:
“Don’t worry, when you get home you’ll cover it up with a tattoo or something.” He himself didn’t understand what she was talking about.
The first time the Ukrainian soldier saw the burnt inscription was when he was transferred to a regular ward: I looked and gasped. I said: “You are all scum. I will shoot you all.”
Andrey believes that the inscription was made by a surgeon, probably using a medical soldering iron. As for medical interventions, he was told that his bladder, urethra and rectum were torn apart by an explosion. Part of his rectum was removed.
What helped Andrei endure the conditions in captivity was that he promised his daughter to return:
“And every day (in captivity, – Ed. ) I constantly told myself: “I will return.”
Now the soldier plans to return to service if doctors allow him to do so based on the results of the operations.
