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Valeriy “Yarylo” Horishnii is a senior sergeant of the 12th Brigade “Azov” of the National Guard of Ukraine (Azov Corps), a combat training instructor. Before military service, he worked as an English language teacher, was the head of an NGO, and managed the national-patriotic education project “School of Leaders named after Akson and Khoma.” By profession, he is a hospitality management specialist (Kharkiv National University of Municipal Economy, Faculty of Management). In 2022, he defended Mariupol as part of the Azov unit. Following the command’s order to surrender, he spent 2 years and 4 months in russian captivity in various detention facilities. He was released on September 14, 2024, in a prisoner exchange. After his release, he became a key witness to Russia’s war crimes: he delivered testimonies and speeches at the UN Security Council (Arria-Formula format), the UK Parliament, and the German Bundestag. His accounts of captivity and torture have become important evidence of systematic violations of international humanitarian law by russia.
