The heavy fate of Ukrainian Olga: ‘My husband has been trapped, I have been waiting for him for three years. And I have cancer … ‘

“Every three months I prepare his bag with his things, in case one of the exchanges of prisoners also appears. Then I pull out winter clothes out of my bag and put on summer, and vice versa, and so on. ”

The words are the ones spoken to us by Olga Kurtmallaieva, 25, a young woman who has been expecting her husband from Russian captivity for three years. But Olga leads another fight – she is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

The wife met Olga back in 2015 and got married in 2017. Ruslan is a marine, he has previously lived in Crimea, and since 2014, when, after Russian occupation of Crimea and the attack on the Donbas region, he went to defend his homeland. The couple lived a very modest life, in a small rented apartment: “We had almost nothing.

Once a month, we went to the movies and that was a excuse to wear beautiful dresses. I remember those moments as the most beautiful. « 

Unfortunately, they have not even suspected all the troubles waiting for them in life.

While Ruslan fought for Ukraine, Olga had to deal with a different type of struggle in 2021 – after she felt an unusual lump on her neck and spoke to the doctor, Olgu subjected a series of serious tests and finally diagnosed her a rare form of cancer, Hodgkin’s lymph in the second stage. Ruslan was her biggest support in those moments, and she knew that she was trying to stay strong in front of her. Although their mutual friends told her that he had completely broken when she had informed him of unhappy news.

Her life has changed

She soon started with chemotherapy in Mariupolje, which suited her because Ruslan was there on duty, so they could see each other more often. For less than six months after her diagnosis, their life has changed once more.

– At the beginning of the complete Russian invasion, in February 2022, we lived in Berdjan. Ruslan immediately joined the defense of Mariupolj and participated in the defense of Azovstalja – says Olga.

Their last meeting occurred on February 2, 2022, just two days before the start of the Russian invasion. Ruslan came home briefly, and Olga remembers that he had already said that he had a bad sense and that he seemed to be in danger of them. On the same day he returned to Mariupolj.

– He fought and defended the city until April 4, 2022, when he ended up with numerous other Ukrainian soldiers in Russian captivity – Olga recalls.

During this time, Olga was in Berdjanska, which was under Russian occupation.

« Then I had to suspend treatment because local hospitals did not have the necessary funds, and for a very long time I did not receive any news about Ruslan. »

In an earlier interview with the New York Times, she revealed that at the end of April 2022, she received a short letter from a Russian prison saying, « Favorite, your husband writes. I’m fine, I’m alive and healthy. I hope you are fine. I love you, dear, I hope we’ll see you soon. Your Ruslan. »

She spent six months under occupation in Berdjanska. Without treatment, without any other news. It was not until September 2022 that she finally managed to escape, first to the password and then to Kiev. There, she first devoted herself to searching for Ruslan and any news about him. Even her own health has fallen into the background until she has decided to consult a doctor because of a constant sense of fatigue and weakness:

Cancer progressed

– I went to Kiev again after more than six months and found out that cancer had progressed from the second stage to the neighborhood. Then I continued my treatment and started receiving great doses of chemotherapy. I didn’t know what to expect or how much time I had left.

However, about a year after his arrival in Kyiv, Olga surprised the video call from an unknown Russian number. She answered and saw her husband’s face. For her, it was a moment of indescribable happiness, a moment in which she finally found out with complete certainty that Ruslan was alive and the moment that gave her the strength to move on. Phone and video calls from Russian captivity are incredibly rare, for Olga it was something she never dared to think about.

During her stay in Kiev, Olga joined the number of associations and volunteer actions seeking for captured Ukrainians.

– I wanted to help so I activated myself in volunteer work, and we also founded an organization that acts as support for Ruslan’s battalion. We organize numerous protests and investigate news about prisoners and try to draw the attention of the west to all the tragedies that take place in Ukraine and the catastrophic conditions in which Ukrainian prisoners are housed – Olga told us.

Her husband is alive

She also revealed to us that she learned the last news about Ruslan about three months ago, when a soldier who shared a cell with him returned to a prisoner:

– He confirmed to me that Ruslan was still alive, but he told me about terrible conditions that leave the serious consequences on the health of the prisoners. He talked about the lack of food and various forms of torture that Ukrainian captives were subjected to, it is terrible! ”.

All of this was further motivated to continue to do volunteer work. Her cancer is now in a very unstable remission. She continues to prevent preventive treatment, but chemotherapy has left great consequences on her health.

– Cancer is in remission, but it is extremely unstable. I have received large amounts of chemotherapy and now I feel the consequences of this, from infections to polyneuropathy, that is, damage to peripheral nerves throughout the body, ”she said. Still, she has not yet lost hope in a better future and Ruslan’s return.

– I have hope and I will still have it. Every three months I have been preparing his bag with his things, in case one of the exchanges of prisoners also appears. Then I pull out winter clothes out of my bag and put the summer, and vice versa, and so constantly.

With volunteering now and works, he has his own online store and claims that people have to work, they have to continue to live and have to continue to fight.

When asked about the current geopolitical situation, the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and Donald Trump’s statements, he replies that, in her opinion, no one takes specific steps, and people suffer during that time.

– Everyone dealt with some of their political games, and no one thinks about people. They are the people who suffer, are people who die and are people who suffer inhumane conditions in Russian captivity.

At the end of the conversation – a call for help

– Every time I talk to someone from foreign media, in the end I actually send a call to help and invite the West to wake up and help all of us in Ukraine who face the horrors of war every day. I urge states to support us and take some fast and concrete steps to finally stop this horror. Here we are talking about torture, killing, how Russia constantly violates the Geneva Convention and we need support from the West, we need help to stop it all and that all our captives are finally returning home.

Despite all the adversity, Olga continues to persevere in his struggle and believes that Ruslan will return soon. He hopes to live together again and build a future in Ukraine where there will be no more war and suffering. Her story is a reminder of the endurance and strength of the Ukrainian people, and how love and hope can survive even in those darkest and most difficult moments if the person is willing to continue the fight.