SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KGTV) — Two Ukrainian prisoners of war who were being held by Russians are here in San Diego.
They came with a small group working to garner support and raise awareness about the atrocities of war overseas.
On Monday, the group received a private tour of the USS Midway by its President and CEO.
ABC 10News spoke with the group and learned that the two prisoners of war, Arturo and Vladyslav, were released in an exchange with the Russians back in June. Ukrainian forces say that thousands of others remain in captivity.
Ukrainian Commander George Kuprashvili told 10News that he was shot twice in the chest during combat. He says more than 700 soldiers in his unit are now being held by Russians. Prior to San Diego, he and the group were in Washington D.C. where they spoke with U.S. officials about the inhumane treatment of their soldiers.
“We have examples of war crimes…killing soldiers. One example was they put 200 POWs in one building and executed them,” said Kuprashvili.
Kuprashvili says he hopes to gain U.S. support to help his troops in any way possible.
“Right now I’m trying to save their lives because it’s my unit. It’s my soldiers. I need to pull them out,” he said.
