2024-04-10 15:36:19
Gerda told the Latvian media that she wanted to fight since 2014, when the war in Eastern Ukraine started. Therefore, in 2017, he joined the “Azov” squad. When the large-scale Russian attack began, the soldier was in Mariupol, for three months she took care of evacuating the population, helping the rest and defending the besieged city, until finally, together with 2,000 other last defenders, she was captured by the Russians, where she was repeatedly tortured.
“We had about two thousand survivors. And all of them were injured and needed medical attention. If we had gone to the last battle, it would not have been possible to help the wounded. We couldn’t leave them, we had to be with them. But to fight with the wounded… And we had nothing to fight with – there was no ammunition.
We surrendered with a third-party guarantee, Turkey provided a guarantee. Everyone expected us to be exchanged within four months, as stipulated in the Geneva Convention. However, this did not happen. I was in captivity for a year. In Zelenovka, we were kept in the following conditions: a small room with more than 20 girls.
The worst part was that there was no information. I didn’t know what happened to my loved ones, my home in Kyiv. I was told that Kyiv is gone, that it is in the hands of Moscow. You will die here like an old woman, you will never see your loved ones. You won’t see the sun.
During all the time I spent in the cell, I saw the moon once,” the soldier told the Latvian media.
Gerda recalled that the wounded in captivity did not receive any medical help: wounds festered, limbs became gangrenous, people died simply in prison cells.
“My biggest fear was that the suppuration would continue, that gangrene would set in and the limb would have to be amputated, or that I would simply die.” I remember we heard moaning in the other cell. We heard the doctors coming. From the snippets of conversations, we understood that the leg of the soldier there was rotting. Then he was carried away in a black bag.
It’s scary and we need to talk about it. Because many people are still in captivity. About 700 Azov soldiers. There must be an exchange. People are treated inhumanely, they die,” said the woman.
The soldier, who was repeatedly humiliated and brutally tortured in prison, says that she still cannot believe what happened to her. Gerda admits that she wished more than once that everything would just end and she wouldn’t have to suffer any more pain.
“I was accused of organizing riots in the prison. They were very brutal, they remembered all the methods of the KGB. At that time I felt that I would not last long. But I knew that if I died, I could not be exchanged for another prisoner. I said that my friends, our partners, NATO officers and officials of other countries know that I was in Azovstal and that I surrendered. And they know I’m still alive. And if I’m gone, they’ll have questions. And, strangely enough, it worked.
More than once I thought: My God, if only I had died in battle. As a heroine. Or simply killed by the explosion. I just wanted it to end. It doesn’t matter how, but let it end.
But then I remembered that my relatives were waiting for me. A man who loves me and waits for me. I didn’t know if he was alive at the time. But I really believed,” Gerda shared her terrible memories.
The exchange of troops, during which Marija was also freed, took place in 2023. May 6
“It’s my second birthday!” May 5 is our wedding anniversary and May 7th. – my husband’s birthday.
In fact, everything was a blur. They put us in the trunk. I got duct tape over my eyes. When they tore it off, they also tore off her eyebrows and hair. But, believe me, compared to what I had to experience until then, it was just a small thing.
For the first two weeks after the exchange, I felt nothing. It was so strange. On the one hand, I was thinking how good it was that I was no longer in pain. But I had no reflexes at all. When they took my blood tests and inserted the needle, I didn’t even flinch. Friends asked what to bring you to eat, what would you like? I just said: food. What color slippers do you want? What kind of pajamas? I said I didn’t care. I really didn’t care,” said the soldier.
Gerda is currently being cared for by her husband, who is also a Ukrainian soldier. Rehabilitation helps the woman to return to life, and now she most wants to bring the widows of fallen Ukrainian soldiers to Latvia and other European countries – to give them moral support and an opportunity to recover.
“Birds of Freedom” helps Ukrainian soldiers to defend themselves – all money collected during the campaign is allocated to send Lithuanian drones to Ukraine. You can contribute by buying nests at auctions at www.laisvėspaukščiai.lt, by transferring money to the bank account specified on the website of the campaign or by calling the short number 1409 (5 EUR).
2024-04-10 15:36:19