A Ukrainian Mother's Three Sons, Three Sides of War
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- Liliya Prutyan, 56, a former military medic in Ukraine's "Aidar" battalion from Blizhney village in Donetsk region, was captured by Russian forces 16 days into the full-scale invasion, held in Donetsk and Rostov under brutal conditions, and exchanged before sentencing
- While Prutyan was in captivity, her youngest son Dima, then 17, survived three years alone in Russian-occupied territory, including a severe diabetes episode after his middle brother dropped him at a hospital and never visited
- Prutyan's middle son married a woman with pro-Russian views, cut ties with his brothers, joined the Russian army, and later provided written testimony against his mother at her trial in Russia for serving in "Aidar"
- Russian soldiers who moved into Dima's home took his laptop, utensils, his mother's jewelry, clothing, and shoes; he obtained a Russian passport because he could not study, pay utilities, or receive humanitarian aid without one
- Prutyan arranged Dima's evacuation through Russia, Belarus, and Poland; they reunited in Kyiv in February 2025, with Prutyan telling the Times the embrace felt like "meeting a stranger" — a normal post-captivity response, she said
- As of the reporting, Prutyan and Dima live in Dnipro with her eldest son, who was demobilized from the VSU; the middle son suffered a head injury in a drone attack, according to relatives Prutyan chose not to question further
Why it matters: This profile illustrates how forced Russian passportization, occupation conditions, and dual-sourced conscription are fracturing Ukrainian families from within — a mother served in Ukraine's "Aidar" battalion, one son joined Russia's army and testified against her in court, and her youngest survived three years alone under occupation. It personalizes the war's human stakes beyond battlefield statistics, particularly for the children left behind.
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