Trostyanets: A Liberated But Tortured City

TROSTYANETS, UKRAINE - APRIL 22: Valera, 32 years old, poses in front of what served as his cell, a metal container in which he was locked up for several days and fed with the leftovers of Russian soldiers on April 22, 2022 in Trostyanets, Ukraine. Hands tied with metal cables and hood on his head like all the other detainees, he suffered the same thing as his fellow prisoners, he says that several hundred people were detained here and that not all of them survived. Now, one month later, unidentified corpses are being found in the vicinity of this metal cage. Ukrainian forces retook Trostyanets on March 26, 2022 from Russian control, a north-eastern town that saw fierce fighting and was occupied by Russians for weeks. After Russian advances had stalled on several fronts, Russia appeared to revise its military goals in Ukraine, claiming that it would focus its efforts on the battle in the eastern Donbas region. (Photo by Gaelle Girbes/Getty Images)