Ep9 – "You Were Allowed to Breathe. That's All.": Ievgen Malik on Mordovia Prison and the Road Home (Part 2)

On February 7th, 2023, Ievgen Malik was told he was going home. He smiled. A prison officer looked at him and said: *"What are you smiling about? You're going to be beaten hundreds of times before you get home."* That was the truth. He was being transferred to Prison No. 10 in Mordovia — the hardest facility in his captivity — where he would spend the better part of a year.
In this concluding episode with Rob Lee, Ievgen Malik details life inside Mordovia: the arrival ritual (stripped naked in Russian winter, beaten by twenty guards with batons and electric shocks for forty minutes); the daily regime (stand from 6am to 10pm, no moving, no speaking, no smiling, no leaning — allowed only to breathe); his 30th birthday (made to sing a Russian song while a guard shocked his fingers for the entire duration); the German shepherd bite that went untreated for weeks; and the moment on September 13th, 2024 — Friday the 13th — when his name was finally called.
Of the 650 Ukrainian prisoners in Mordovia Prison No. 10, fewer than 20 have been released. More than 600 remain there today.
*Continues from Episode 8.*

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▶ Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineMilitaryHistory 📩 Two Marines (Rob & Dmytro): https://ukrainemilitaryhistory.s.gy/wt9OCKTimestamps:00:00 What is this episode about05:42 The Transfer: "We Truly Believed This Was the End"08:07 "You're Going to Be Beaten Hundreds of Times Before You Get Home"13:26 Sign It If You Did It — a Confession Means a Death Sentence18:47 The Arrival — Naked, On Knees, in the Russian Winter21:49 The Daily Regime: Stand From 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.22:25 "You Are Allowed to Breathe. That's It."31:37 Old News: The Day They Said They'd Captured Lviv32:36 The Guards: Following Orders vs. Enjoying It33:27 Hyenas From Hell — the Laugh That Still Stays With Him42:56 The Dogs55:23 The Ombudsman's Three Days — the Red Cross Never Came56:46 Friday the 13th: the Day His Name Was Called1:00:35 "God, Make This Plane Break Down" — the Flight He Didn't Believe1:02:34 The Man Whose Mother Didn't Recognize Him1:07:02 A Piece of Chocolate1:08:26 A Birthday in Captivity1:10:59 The Exchange: Across the Belarusian Border1:16:11 Out of 650, Only 20 Have Come Home1:20:22 "Sometimes I Sit in a Café and Can't Believe I'm Free"1:22:59 This Isn't Ukraine vs. Russia. It's Russia vs. Europe.1:28:33 Thanks to the supporters