'My son was brutally tortured by Russians - this is my message to Putin'

A Ukrainian mother whose son was tortured by Russian soldiers is using her painful story to support the families of other fallen fighters.

Ihor Branovytska was captured during a famous 242-day battle to defend Donetsk Airport against Kremlin-backed forces in January 2015.

Held by brutal Russian militant, Arsen Pavlov, who is infamous for his war crimes against Ukrainian Prisoners of War, Ihor was savagely beaten and executed in cold blood.

His mother, Nina, had the harrowing experience of witnessing her son's painful last moments in twisted videos recorded by his captors. She would later learn her son's full ordeal from his fellow prisoners.

Although the horror still brings tears to Nina's cheeks, she is determined to use her pain to help the many others who've found themselves in similar situations since Russia's full-scale invasion three years ago.

As Putin's tanks started rolling towards the Ukrainian capital in 2022, Nina felt compelled to support the war effort in whatever way she could.

"It was scary," she said of the invasion, "But I was not going to leave Kyiv, I wanted to help.

"I understood that in war we rely on those who protect us and knew again there will be mothers, already much younger than me, who would lose their children."

Since her son died, she has been part of a group for grieving mothers who meet regularly and help each other by sharing their experiences of survival after losing children in war, which has grown since the full-scale invasion.

At a Mother's Day event in Kyiv earlier this month, a globally renowned brand honoured the group for their efforts.

In addition to the exponentially bigger scale of the conflict, a key difference between Nina's experience in 2015 and that of those affected by the full-scale invasion is the stance taken by other nations toward the war.

Russia's global standing was almost completely affected by war crimes in occupied territories, despite appeals from Nina and those affected to the international community to take action.

Billionaire oligarchs still occupied the best spots in London's most exclusive districts and, in 2018, Vladimir Putin could be seen grinning ear-to-ear as a rain-drenched Emanuel Macron thanked him for hosting a "perfect" football World Cup.

Nina, however, doesn't feel bitter that so many countries have only recently become aware of Russia's dangers.

"Our trouble is that not everyone can fight. We are grateful to those who helped. We understand that people want peace and that war is frightening," she said.

"It is such a big world and no one alone can stop Russia."

Nina also expressed her gratitude to Britain for its support since the full-scale invasion, revealing that her youngest son had travelled to the UK for military training.

"It's been very difficult," she said. "But the future is not dead, there is a future for Ukraine.

"Many lives have been lost since the invasion and there are men who've suffered disabilities. But we continue to resist.

"I can say thank you to the British Government and its people for their support of Ukraine."