Writer and soldier Stanislav Aseyev wounded on the front line

On May, 1, 2024, Ukrainian writer and journalist Stanislav Aseyev was wounded on the front line near Ocheretyne in the Donetsk region. 

Stanislav Aseyev is known for his book “The Torture Camp on Paradise Street” (HURI, 2022), in which he recounts his experience as a prisoner of a concentration camp run by the Federal Security Bureau of the Russian Federation (FSB) in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk from 2015 to 2017.

I’m alive, although according to all the laws of physics and probability I should have died. The positions, unfortunately, have been lost. Now I’m in the hospital with a concussion.

Soon I will ask you for help again, since in material terms our unit has lost a lot. pic.twitter.com/BiZ26iy9BL

— Stanislav Aseyev (@AseyevStanislav) May 1, 2024

Aseyev also informed journalists that he is not available for more comments at this time.

During the defense of Ocheretyne, Russian troops outnumbered Ukrainian forces 10-15 times, as reported by the 115th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. 

Ukrainian journalist Denys Kazansky encourages readers to purchase Stanislav Aseyev’s latest book, “The Melchior Elephant” (currently available in Ukrainian only). Although written in 2013, the novel was published in 2024. Aseyev had planned to present it in Kyiv on April 28, but was unable to travel due to the escalation on the front line.

Stanislav Aseyev is a Ukrainian writer and journalist from Donetsk and the author of two books, “The Torture Camp on Paradise Street” (HURI, 2022) and “In Isolation” (HURI, 2022), both detailing his experiences under the Russian occupation in eastern Ukraine. Writing under the pen name Stanislav Vasin, he reported for the Ukrainian press on the outbreak of Russian-sponsored military hostilities in the Donbas. In 2017, he was unlawfully arrested and imprisoned by the separatist forces on charges of “extremism” and “spying,” and endured intermittent torture during his captivity. “In Isolation” was awarded the prestigious Taras Shevchenko National Prize in 2021.

Copy editing: Tanya Mykhaylychenko, Terra Friedman King