The bodies of Pavel Kholodenko and Viktor Balai, both 28, were found buried in a shallow forest grave in early April. The two young men, who went to kindergarten together, went to school together and served briefly in the Ukrainian army together, were brutally tortured and killed together by Russian soldiers, their grieving mothers said. Their previous military service was probably the reason they were executed. Suffering from the pain of their loss, the mothers told Sky News that their boys were planning to volunteer to fight the invasion before suddenly losing contact with the couple when Russian tanks stormed the village of Zdvizhivka on February 25. It was only after Russia’s forces finally withdrew more than a month later that the horror of what had happened to lifelong friends emerged. “They were tortured,” said Tetiana Holodenko, 48, weeping in tears. “It was such horrific torture that no part of the body escaped – fingers, hands, feet … It’s hard to say, but I’ll say it: They killed (Pavel) with a shot in the mouth. From a rifle – The brain “It was in the hood of his coat. It’s hard. Very hard.” She spoke standing outside her house – it’s the second family home with another property in a nearby town. Live updates on the war in Ukraine: Russia “digs graves in Mariupol” Image: Tetiana Holodenko says her son was tortured by Russian forces Image: Pavel told his mother he would return before leaving to fight Victor’s house is on the street. He lived there with his mother, Olena Balai, 49, and grandmother, Olga Dovhoshap, 78. They are broken without him. “He was tortured,” said the mother, pasted on a photo frame with a frame of her only child, who was dressed in a military uniform. “No part of his body was spared. My son did not live to see his 29th birthday. The b

  • killed him. The fascists tortured him. Why? What did he do? He is not guilty, he is “Just a boy. My son died. My baby boy is gone. My baby is gone.” Picture: Victor lived with Olena Balai’s mother, right, and grandmother, Olga Dovhoshap, left Both men were described as polite and thoughtful. They had served together in the Ukrainian armed forces, fighting Moscow-backed separatists in the east of the country since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. The two friends decided to return to political life, with Pavel working as a taxi driver, while Victor became a builder. When Russia invaded, they both signaled to their respective mothers the desire to fight. The war in Ukraine in pictures: Fifty days of destruction, death and destruction “His last words were: Mom, I love you but I have to leave. I have to defend Ukraine. I love you mummy,” said Victor’s mother, her voice cracked, her eyes watering with tears, her head bent over. Pavel’s mother described the last time she saw her son. “He said, ‘I’ll be back,’” he recalls. “He is a fighter, a former fighter. After that we did not see him. He went from our house and said to me: ‘Mom, I will go for a walk and then I will come back.’ He never did. Picture: Pavel is resting near Irene Street Picture: Pavel and Victor grew up on Irene Street in a rural village outside Kyiv No family is sure what happened next or how the two young men ended up in captivity. They also do not know exactly when the couple died. Their bodies were discovered on April 3, but the brutal remains showed signs that they had been on the ground for some time. “We found them on Sunday, identified them and buried them on Tuesday,” said Pavel’s mother. “I did not know night from day at that time – my son μου my son”. They were buried in two different cemeteries of the village. The mothers said they wanted justice as Ukrainian investigators worked to create a case against Russia for thousands of war crimes. “I want revenge – the Russian soldiers to follow the way my son did … But we can not say that, right, because then we will be as bad as they are,” said Pavel’s mother. “We can not behave like them. But I want them to be punished.”

title: “Ukraine War Heartbroken Mothers Mourn Two Lifelong Friends Tortured By Russian Soldiers World News " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-05” author: “Mary Maille”

The bodies of Pavel Kholodenko and Viktor Balai, both 28, were found buried in a shallow forest grave in early April. The two young men, who went to kindergarten together, went to school together and served briefly in the Ukrainian army together, were brutally tortured and killed together by Russian soldiers, their grieving mothers said. Their previous military service was probably the reason they were executed. Suffering from the pain of their loss, the mothers told Sky News that their boys were planning to volunteer to fight the invasion before suddenly losing contact with the couple when Russian tanks stormed the village of Zdvizhivka on February 25. It was only after Russia’s forces finally withdrew more than a month later that the horror of what had happened to lifelong friends emerged. “They were tortured,” said Tetiana Holodenko, 48, weeping in tears. “It was such horrific torture that no part of the body escaped – fingers, hands, feet … It’s hard to say, but I’ll say it: They killed (Pavel) with a shot in the mouth. From a rifle – The brain “It was in the hood of his coat. It’s hard. Very hard.” She spoke standing outside her house – it’s the second family home with another property in a nearby town. Live updates on the war in Ukraine: Russia “digs graves in Mariupol” Image: Tetiana Holodenko says her son was tortured by Russian forces Image: Pavel told his mother he would return before leaving to fight Victor’s house is on the street. He lived there with his mother, Olena Balai, 49, and grandmother, Olga Dovhoshap, 78. They are broken without him. “He was tortured,” said the mother, pasted on a photo frame with a frame of her only child, who was dressed in a military uniform. “No part of his body was spared. My son did not live to see his 29th birthday. The b

  • killed him. The fascists tortured him. Why? What did he do? He is not guilty, he is “Just a boy. My son died. My baby boy is gone. My baby is gone.” Picture: Victor lived with Olena Balai’s mother, right, and grandmother, Olga Dovhoshap, left Both men were described as polite and thoughtful. They had served together in the Ukrainian armed forces, fighting Moscow-backed separatists in the east of the country since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. The two friends decided to return to political life, with Pavel working as a taxi driver, while Victor became a builder. When Russia invaded, they both signaled to their respective mothers the desire to fight. The war in Ukraine in pictures: Fifty days of destruction, death and destruction “His last words were: Mom, I love you but I have to leave. I have to defend Ukraine. I love you mummy,” said Victor’s mother, her voice cracked, her eyes watering with tears, her head bent over. Pavel’s mother described the last time she saw her son. “He said, ‘I’ll be back,’” he recalls. “He is a fighter, a former fighter. After that we did not see him. He went from our house and said to me: ‘Mom, I will go for a walk and then I will come back.’ He never did. Picture: Pavel is resting near Irene Street Picture: Pavel and Victor grew up on Irene Street in a rural village outside Kyiv No family is sure what happened next or how the two young men ended up in captivity. They also do not know exactly when the couple died. Their bodies were discovered on April 3, but the brutal remains showed signs that they had been on the ground for some time. “We found them on Sunday, identified them and buried them on Tuesday,” said Pavel’s mother. “I did not know night from day at that time – my son μου my son”. They were buried in two different cemeteries of the village. The mothers said they wanted justice as Ukrainian investigators worked to create a case against Russia for thousands of war crimes. “I want revenge – the Russian soldiers to follow the way my son did … But we can not say that, right, because then we will be as bad as they are,” said Pavel’s mother. “We can not behave like them. But I want them to be punished.”