Thursday 22 September 2022 10:38 PM Freed British hostage, 59, says his captors forced him to record a goodbye ... trends now
As he sat tied up and hooded in the darkness of a lorry driven by his Russian captors, John Harding sensed his life was about to end. The former engineer had been in transit for 20 hours – one of five British hostages taped together in the back of an old truck.
Suddenly someone realised they must have crossed Ukraine’s eastern border into Russia. It was then Mr Harding’s pulse quickened and he feared the worst.
Were they being taken from the war zone to be executed with their corpses buried in the soil of ‘Mother Russia’ never to be uncovered? he asked himself.
The 59-year-old, from Sunderland, even pictured in his mind’s eye the stump he would be tied to and the sound of the executioner’s rifle clicking. It would be a tragic end to his four months detained on the orders of Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, he thought, during which time he had been tortured and beaten while interrogated.
His sadistic captors had used cattle prods to jab prisoners and adapted an old phone into a torture device. The prisoners of war would be ordered to dial a number and when the dial turned they would receive an electric shock – ‘quite inventive’, says Mr Harding. During his captivity in Russian-occupied Donetsk, he shared a cramped prison cell, measuring 13ft by 6ft, with other inmates who were locked up for 23 hours a day.
Inevitably his health suffered, his legs ‘wasted away’ as his weight plummeted to just eight stone. He also suffered neurological damage to his spine and hands. Worst of all, he had seen a fellow British hostage die in captivity.
The Russians had failed to meet the daily medication requirements of diabetic aid worker Paul Urey, 45, from Warrington, Cheshire, who died in July while Mr Harding was out in an exercise area. He came back to find the body.
Home at last: John Harding with his sister Denise yesterday. While imprisoned, his legs ‘wasted away’ as his weight plummeted to just eight stone. He also suffered neurological damage to his spine and hands. Worst of all, he had seen a fellow British hostage die in captivity
During his captivity in Russian-occupied Donetsk, he shared a cramped prison cell, measuring 13ft by 6ft, with other inmates who were locked up for 23 hours a day
Mr Harding had been serving as a combat medic in the Ukrainian armed forces when he was captured by the Russians. He was facing the death penalty and his guards made him record a video to say goodbye to his daughter because he was due to be executed by firing squad.
When the truck from Ukraine to Russia finally pulled up. Mr Harding and his friends, Aiden Aslin, Dylan Healy, Andrew Hill and Shaun Pinner were bundled out as guards barked instructions. When the goons removed his hood, dazed Mr Harding realised he had been driven to an airstrip. There was more shouting and the captives were marched towards a plane.
Describing his ordeal for the first time to the Daily Mail yesterday, he said: ‘We’d been on the floor of the truck and all that time it crossed my mind [it was our final journey]. And when someone realised we were in Russia we were like “Oh, f***!” We weren’t sure if that journey was going to end with us tied to a post. We got to the airstrip and we were told to get on the plane.
‘We still didn’t know where we were going. The window blinds were down as weren’t allowed to open them. But we were given food. We took off and we were flying for a long time.
‘Then someone told me we were over Egypt. Finally, I lifted the blinds at 30,000ft and thought for the first time “We’re not going to die”.’ His ordeal and those of the four other British PoWs was over.
Their release had been negotiated as part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine, with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman acting as an intermediary.
Mr Harding was also told that former Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich was involved in the negotiations, but this has not been confirmed.
On the frontline: Mr Harding is pictured serving in war-torn Ukraine before his capture. The 59-year-old was prepared for a tragic end to his four months detained on the orders of Russia’s president Vladimir Putin
Viktor Medvedchuk, pictured shortly after his arrest, was reportedly released in exchange for the 10 prisoners of war which included five Brits
Russian nationalists reacted with fury yesterday after Ukraine secured the release of more than 200 prisoners of war.
The surprise deal saw commanders and soldiers from the elite Azov regiment freed with just 55 Russian detainees handed to Moscow, including staunch Putin ally Viktor Medvedchuk, pictured. But Kremlin hardliners said Russia should have sought more concessions.
Former Russian colonel Igor Girkin branded the pact ‘treason’. He said the prisoner exchange ‘was worse than a crime and worse than a mistake. It is unacceptable stupidity’.
‘We have freed 215 of our people... of whom 124 are officers. Of those we have freed, 108 are Azov fighters,’ said Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff.
Moscow also released ten foreigners, including five British nationals.
Last night, Ukraine’s military intelligence unit said many of those freed showed signs of torture.
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As part of the Gulf state’s role in the prisoner exchange, Mr Harding and his friends were flown to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday evening. He said: ‘I was flown to Riyadh, given a medical check-up and we were met by British consular representatives. They provided us with emergency passports and put us on a British Airways flight to Heathrow.
‘All us English lads were together – me, Aiden, Dylan, Andrew and Shaun. They gave us real food for the first time in months. We had beef and rice, chicken, spring rolls. My eyes were bigger than my stomach.’ Their in-flight meals were a world away from the food served in the prisons in Donetsk where he had been held following Mr Harding’s capture in Mariupol, the port city besieged by Russian forces earlier this year.
After weeks of bombardment, Ukraine military units, which included many foreign fighters, were running out of ammunition. Inevitably they were forced to put down their weapons.
Mr Harding said: ‘We surrendered at the Azov steelworks because
