Mariia Klymyk on Survivor Testimony, Torture Documentation, and Trauma-Informed Interviews
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2026/04/27
Mariia Klymyk is a Ukrainian journalist, war-crimes documenter, and human rights researcher at the Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR). She serves as co-head of MIHR’s Department for the Protection of the Rights of Military Personnel and Their Families, where she leads work on Ukrainian prisoners of war and missing persons. Her work includes collecting testimonies about war crimes committed by the Russian Federation, researching places of detention in occupied Ukrainian territory and Russia, and producing investigations and analytical materials on captivity and disappearances. Klymyk joined MIHR in April 2022 and holds a master’s degree in journalism from Lviv Polytechnic National University.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen speaks with Mariia Klymyk about the reliability of survivor testimony, trauma-informed interviewing, and the legal threshold for torture and ill-treatment. Klymyk explains that recurring accounts from former Ukrainian captives independently corroborate patterns of electroshock, beatings, starvation, sexual violence, medical neglect, and coerced confessions. She emphasizes survivor choice, emotional safety, and humane treatment during interviews, while arguing that Russia’s detention system systematically violates Geneva Convention standards for prisoners of war in captivity today.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: How reliable are survivor testimonies? How do you ensure higher reliability of survivor testimonies in sensitive areas related to torture and ill-treatment?
Mariia Klymyk: Can I ask, have you spoken with Ukrainian soldiers who were released from Russian captivity?
Jacobsen: Just today, actually.
Klymyk: When you speak with many of them, you understand that they are reliable. For many of them, it is difficult to understand how they survived those conditions and that treatment. But most of them, after returning from captivity and after being held in those places of detention for two or three years, and after rehabilitation, return to the battlefield.
The main goal after they return from captivity is to tell the world what was happening behind those walls and what was happening to their friends who are still in captivity.
Some information is difficult for them to share, especially if they experienced sexual abuse. Many of them do not want to speak about this. But they still try to explain what happened.
Of course, there are some cases where a person may not be fully reliable, as we have heard of situations in which individuals behaved badly toward other Ukrainians in captivity.
When people return from captivity, they go to the SBU and report what happened. So we have this information. Some people refused to return to Ukraine; we are aware of those cases. But most Ukrainians who return from captivity do everything they can. They speak with journalists, with the UN, with lawyers. They travel abroad to speak with the international community and testify about what happened to them, even when this causes them pain.
We have one member who survived the explosion in Olenivka. After Olenivka, he was transferred to Taganrog, where he was badly tortured. He was also almost raped. It was in Vienna, during meetings with diplomats, when he first spoke about the sexual violence. He was trembling as he talked about it. In the end, he said it is very hard to remember everything that happened to him.
It is hard for him to repeat this testimony day by day. It is traumatizing for him. But now he is in a safe place, and he wants every person in the world to know what the Russians are doing and what it is like to be in Russian captivity, because the war is still ongoing.
We all know what is happening in the world right now. Nobody can be sure this will not happen to them. So many of them, even though they are traumatized by surviving this, still speak. When you hear their stories, you do not question whether they are true, because every person describes the same torture and the same treatment.
I know that for some people, including representatives from other countries, it is hard to understand how this is possible, how people could survive such conditions. It is very difficult for them to comprehend.
Two days ago, I spoke with a Japanese journalist, and it was hard for him to understand how Russians can do this, how they can treat Ukrainians this way in the 21st century.
The world needs to understand that Russia is still operating with practices rooted in the Soviet Union. People may understand how others live, but they are influenced by very strong propaganda. For many people, it is difficult to understand how this can be true, how Russians can do this.
There are even reports that in the Kursk region, at a place of detention, there was a guillotine.
They used it, or they tried to use it against people. Sometimes testimony sounds unreal, but it is true.
If you ask people who were in the same place of detention, and you ask them, “Did you hear about electroshock?” or “Did you hear about the basement and what was happening there?” or about other things, all of them confirm not only that they heard about it, but that they experienced it themselves.
If you speak with people who were in captivity, you understand. It is hard to explain.
Jacobsen: When it comes to interviews with those who have been tortured and ill-treated, what are the best practices regarding trauma-informed interviewing?
Klymyk: First, you need to explain to the person that they can say no. You have to allow them to choose what to say and what not to say.
All these people lived for years in conditions where they did not have the opportunity to say no, because if they said no, they were tortured. So first, the person needs to understand that they have the right to choose.
When you conduct an interview, you should tell them they can choose where to sit, what to say, and whether to leave or refuse to answer a question. These are the main rules when speaking with former prisoners of war: you allow them to choose.
Sometimes they want someone to listen. If you ask questions and they do not answer as you expect, it is better to let them speak freely. When they speak, they relax. When they see that you are interested in what they are saying and that you are composed, it helps.
We have situations where they try to tell their stories, and the person listening starts crying. For them, it is very hard to endure those emotions. They need to see that you see them as human beings, because during captivity, they were not treated as human beings.
So it is important to treat them as human beings and give them a choice. It also helps to give them something to hold, like a small object or a piece of paper, because when they speak, they need to do something with their hands. They are nervous. If you can give them something simple to hold or play with, it can calm them and help them relax.
Jacobsen: What is the minimum threshold for something to be classified as torture or ill-treatment within international standards?
Klymyk: First of all, it is the places where they are held. In the Geneva Conventions, it is clearly stated that there must be camps for prisoners of war, not places used for criminals.
Russia does not do this. They do not create special camps for prisoners of war. Second, it is medical care, because they have to provide proper medical care, but in those places, they basically lack hospitals, medical staff, and even medications.
Another factor is the opportunity to communicate with the outside world. People in captivity have the right to speak with their relatives by phone or by letter. But Ukrainians do not have this opportunity. They may have this opportunity only if they are accused of crimes and sentenced. Those persons may have access to mail, but even that is problematic, as it violates international law to sentence soldiers for defending their country.
Most cases against Ukrainians are framed as terrorism or accusations of killing civilians, which is not true. We know that many of these testimonies and confessions were obtained after rape or torture. We document these cases and seek sanctions against judges and lawyers who participate in them.
But mostly it is torture, because Russia uses electroshock constantly. They use what we call a “tapik,” a special device, and they use it against women, older people, civilians, soldiers, and wounded soldiers.
After torture, they do not provide medical care. So the main issue is torture, because it is constant. Every day, people are beaten, and every day, people are subjected to electroshock. They are starved. They die of tuberculosis because Russia does not provide medical supplies and does not take them to hospitals.
Jacobsen: Thank you very much for the opportunity and your time, Mariia.
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