Ukrainian Medic Liliia Prutian Reunites With Son After 1,740-Mile Escape and Prisoner Swap
Updated
Updated · Meduza · Aug 20
Ukrainian Medic Liliia Prutian Reunites With Son After 1,740-Mile Escape and Prisoner Swap
3 articles · Updated · Meduza · Aug 20
Summary
Liliia Prutian, 56, was freed in a prisoner swap after Russian captivity and a terrorism trial, then reunited in Kyiv with her youngest son Dima in late February 2025.
Sixteen days into the 2022 invasion, Russian troops captured the Aidar Battalion medic, raped her in custody, moved her through detention cells in Donetsk and Rostov, and put her on trial before releasing her without a verdict.
Dima, left alone in occupied Blyzhnie at 17, survived for three years with Type 1 diabetes, a hospital stay and pressure to adapt to Russian rule, including taking a Russian passport to study and receive aid.
Prutian arranged his escape by paying about $115 to smuggle in temporary Ukrainian papers and hiring transport out through Russia, Belarus and Poland to Ukrainian-held territory.
The family was split by the war: Prutian's oldest son served in Ukraine's military, while her middle son enlisted in the Russian army and even testified against her during the Russian case.