In Part II of our conversation, we hear the story we could only begin to introduce in Part I.

Yevgenii takes us back to the moment he was captured by Russian forces and into the more than two years he spent as a prisoner of war in Russia.

He shares what it was like to lose his freedom without knowing when—or if—he would return home, the realities of surviving inside a Russian prison, and the mental strength it took to endure captivity.

But his story doesn’t end with his release.

Yevgenii opens up about returning to a world that had continued moving while his life had been effectively frozen, the lasting impact of what he experienced, and how he carries those memories with him today. He also reflects on what survival means after captivity—and how he has chosen to move forward rather than allow those years to define the rest of his life.

This is a conversation about war at its most human: fear, survival, resilience, trauma, and the complicated reality of coming home.

Yevgenii’s story is difficult to hear at times. But it is also a powerful reminder of the strength of the human spirit—and why the experiences of Ukrainian prisoners of war cannot be forgotten.

This is Part II of our conversation with Yevgenii and the Kyiv School of Economics. Listen to Part I first to hear more about life in Ukraine today and the work being done to build the country’s future even as the war continues.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.