"He hid his tears and asked for fruit”: mother describes reunion with son after Russian captivity

Espreso talked to the soldier's mother, Olha Datskiv, about how her son decided to join the army, what he loved as a child and whether he intends to continue serving.

Family tried to stop Arsen from joining the army, but it was his choice

From an early age, Arsen, like many boys, had a passion for cars. In addition to his love for vehicles, he was intrigued by assault rifles, despite not having a specific interest in military matters. When the time came for military service, he embraced his duty without hesitation.

“He always told the kids they needed to buy 'barrities' for their machine guns, which was his way of referring to batteries. Anyone who visited our home had to bring those 'barrities.' Of course, there was no talk of war during his childhood, but later he made the decision to join the army. We tried to persuade him against it, but ultimately, that was his choice,” his mother recalls.

In August 2021, just before the full-scale invasion, Arsen signed a contract with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, informing his family of his decision later that October.

“His cousin Arthur is a military man, so he probably inspired him. At that time, my son was not satisfied with any other options except for service,” says Olha Datskiv.

In February 2022, just days before the full-scale Russian invasion, Arsen Machuzhenko was due for rotation. However, all military personnel remained in Mariupol. Arsen fought for the city, being part of the Azovstal defense, until his capture on May 16.

“On March 22, 2022, he stopped contacting us. We began searching for him through his military unit and found only relatives of his fellow soldiers. We gathered some information from a social media group. Shortly before being captured, my son sustained a shrapnel wound, and he still lacks a muscle in his lower limb,” his mother adds.

“I could not leave Ukraine because a part of my heart remained in captivity”

Olha learned that her son had also been taken prisoner of war from the same social media groups. After a while, she was contacted by so-called “volunteers” from the occupied territory. 

“The first thing I learned was that all the guys from Azovstal had surrendered. Since then, we have been waiting for our son to return home. Initially, he was held in a colony in Olenivka, where he was present during the terrorist attack. He was later transferred to Horlivka, where some local volunteers recorded a video of Arsen during interrogation. He spoke in Russian in the video for obvious reasons. It turned out that his relatives had sent money to those supposed volunteers to buy him basic necessities. After being moved from Horlivka to Torez, we continued to send money to those unknown volunteers for items like toothpaste and socks. My son told us that they received very little,” his mother emphasized.

The woman had no direct contact with her son, only a form of correspondence through “volunteers.” They would write letters, take photos, and send them to specified phone numbers. Arsen once managed to write a letter to his relatives in the same manner. He didn’t provide any details, simply stating that everything was fine.

“But how could he be 'fine' when we saw the condition in which he returned? We saw him the next day, and in those first moments, he was just hiding his tears. We were crying, and he couldn't allow himself to do the same. He wanted us to bring him some fruit,” his mother recounts.

Olha Datskiv is also raising a young daughter who was eagerly awaiting her brother's return. The mother admits that she also had to take care of the younger child's morale. But she could not leave Ukraine, because the part of her heart is here.

“It was the fact that my son was a prisoner of war that held me back. Although I was not alone - I had the support of friends and family, I was overwhelmed with incredible excitement. We were waiting for the exchange all the time. I tried not to show my emotions, but I was feeling anxious and worried in my heart. Only hope and faith that my son would return kept me going. We believed that this time would come.”

Arsen Machuzhenko is now recovering and plans to return to service later.