Before and after photos show shocking condition of Ukrainian soldier released by Russia

Ukrainian Volodymyr Tsema-Bursov, before and after spending 20 months imprisoned by Russia (Pictures: Newsflash)

Horrifying before and after photos show how a Ukrainian soldier held prisoner by Russia was starved during his 20 month capture.

Volodymyr Tsema-Bursov, 41, looks painfully thin in images taken in January when he was released during a prisoner exchange.

Volodymyr, who is 1.91 metres (6.2 feet) tall, lost nearly half his body weight and now weighs just 57 kilogrammes (125 lbs).

His ‘after’ photos could be mistaken for pictures taken at a World War II Nazi death camp.

He is being treated for multiple medical problems caused by starvation.

Volodymyr was serving with Ukraine’s 56th Separate Motorised Infantry Brigade when he was captured on April 12, 2022.

He had previously worked as a musician in Mariupol and on cruise ships and had joined the brigade’s orchestra in 2020.

Volodymyr lost almost half his body weight during his 20-month capture (Picture: Newsflash)

He was captured by Russian forces when they attacked the Ilyich steel plant, according to local media.

Volodymyr was held in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region and was also reportedly subjected to torture.

It’s believed the Russians beat and abused their prisoners and when Volodymyr was released he was so confused he did not even realise he was back in Ukraine.

Volodymyr before being held by Russia ({Picture: Newsflash)

Volodymyr was reportedly tortured while in captivity (Picture: Newsflash)

Volodymyr said: ‘Now I am being treated in one of the medical facilities in the Poltava region. My health is much worse than I expected.

‘I have, as they say, a ‘whole bouquet’ of diseases, including chronic gastritis in an acute stage, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a disease of the human digestive system, chronic prostatitis in remission, etc.’

This morning it was revealed that Nato scrambled fighter jets after Russia’s latest missile attacks on Ukraine came close to Nato territory.

Volodymyr had previously worked as a musician in Mariupol and on cruise ships (Picture: Newsflash)

Russian strikes near the border with Poland were from strategic Tu-95MS aircraft – nuclear bombers nicknamed ‘Bears’ – which flew from a base in the Arctic.

It was the second series of attacks so far this month and air alerts lasted for more than two hours across the country.

Russian forces targeted seven Ukrainian regions, including Kyiv and the cities of Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia and Lviv.

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