We are planning children, a quiet family life in happy Ukraine - the wife of a warrior released from captivity fought for him for almost four years, and overcame severe oncology herself

on 5 February, Ruslan Kurtmallayev, a serviceman, defender of Mariupol, a marine, returned to Ukraine from Russian captivity during an exchange. He had been in captivity for almost four years. All this time his wife Olga overcame a severe form of oncology and fought for her husband's release from Russian captivity. Now Ruslan is undergoing a medical examination in the hospital.

Olga Kurtmallaeva told "Suspilne Krim" about his condition, emotions after the first conversation and plans for the future.

My first emotions were tears of joy. It was a shock. I was really waiting for his call. I was very much waiting to see him as soon as possible, because I still could not believe it until the end, - she recalls.

For the past two years, Olga has been travelling to exchanges to find out from released servicemen about her husband. on 5 February, she received a message from the Coordination Headquarters that Ruslan was on the exchange list.

She met her husband immediately at the bus. When she saw him, she cried out: "Ruslan!".

I hugged him and, of course, told him that I loved him very much. And during the call I told him that I loved him very much. It's very important for me to talk about it a lot and constantly... The first thing I noticed was his happy eyes and smile: it hasn't changed," Olga added.

According to her, the most important thing is that even after almost four years in captivity, he remained indestructible.

Kats*pas can abuse our defenders physically, but still cannot break their strong Ukrainian soul morally. Now I really see that 2 years and 2 months in solitary confinement and overall 3 years and 10 months in captivity had a very hard effect on him," the serviceman's wife said.

Ruslan Kurtmallayev is being examined and treated in hospital and is trying to get used to the idea that he is already at home.

We will definitely spend the coming year in rehabilitation, because it is very important to restore their health after what happened to them and the torture they endured. And further - of course, we plan to have children, we plan a peaceful, quiet, family life in a free, happy Ukraine, - said Olga.

Ruslan Kurtmallaev, a platoon commander of the 501st Independent Marine Battalion in the 36th Marine Brigade of the AFU, was captured in April 2022 together with his brothers who were defending the outskirts of Mariupol.

His wife Olga Kurtmallaeva fought for her husband's release from the first days of his capture. She learnt about his fate mainly from liberated servicemen. During almost four years of captivity, Kurtmallayev was able to send home only one letter.

Olga has also been fighting oncology for five years - she has undergone four surgeries and 26 courses of chemotherapy. According to her, it was the thought of her husband that kept her from giving up.

All this time, Kurtmallayeva kept hoping for his return, as most of her husband's brothers had already returned home.