Kyiv confirms authenticity of photo showing Ukrainian POW with ‘Glory to Russia’ carved into stomach

A recently surfaced image of a Ukrainian POW with the words “Glory to Russia” carved into his stomach is real, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) said on Tuesday.

The photo was posted on June 9 by the Twitter account Clash Report and quickly began spreading online. The prisoner’s body shows numerous scars as well as signs of torture and apparent surgical procedures.

According to HUR spokesperson Andriy Yusov, the man in the photo is a Ukrainian soldier who has since been released in a prisoner exchange. The image, he said, was taken by a doctor examining the man after he returned to Ukraine.

“Unfortunately, this is a real photo. It’s from one of the previous prisoner exchanges. During an examination at a regional center where the guys are undergoing rehabilitation, a doctor just couldn’t resist photographing him and posting it online. It’s evidence of what our defenders go through in captivity,” Tusov said on Ukraine’s United News telemarathon.