it told her that if she gave the right answers to the russian journalist interviewing her she could go freebut she didnt know what the right answers were she went back to the cellthree months later without explanation yahupova was again pulled outside this time she was driven to a deserted checkpoint where yet another russian news crew awaited she was ordered to hold hands with two men and walk about 5 meters yards toward ukrainethe three ukrainians were ordered to do another take and another to show that russia was freeing the ukrainian civilians in its custodyexcept at the end of the last take russian soldiers loaded them into a truck and drove them to a nearby crossroads one put shovels into their handsnow you will do something for the good of the russian federation he saidand so yahupova ended up digging trenches until midmarch with more than a dozen ukrainian civilians including business owners a student a teacher and utility workers she could see other crews in the distance with armed guards standing over them most wore russian military uniforms and boots and lived in fear that ukrainian artillery would mistake them for the enemythe ap confirmed through satellite imagery the new trenches dug in the area where yahupova and a man on the ukrainian crew with her said they were held he requested anonymity because his relatives still live under occupationsometimes we even worked there 24 hours a day when they had an inspection coming he saidthe man also spoke with other ukrainian civilians digging mass graves nearby for at least 15 people he said one civilian had been shot for refusing to dig satellite imagery shows a mound of freshlydug earth in the spot the man describedthe man escaped during a russian troop rotation and yahupova also made her way out but both said hundreds of others are still in the occupied front lines forced to work for russia or diewhen yahupova returned to her home after more than five months everything had been stolen her beloved dog had been shot her head ached her vision was blurred and her children long since out of the occupied territories urged her to leaveshe traveled thousands of miles through russia north to the baltics and back around to the front line in ukraine where she reunited with her husband serving with ukrainian forces earlier married in a civil ceremony the two got wed this time in churchnow safe in ukrainian territory yahupova wants to testify against russia for the months it stole from her the concussion that troubles her the home she has lost she still reflexively touches the back of her head where the bottle struck her over and overthey stole not only from me they stole from half the country she saidthe abuse yahupova described is common torture was a constant whether or not there was information to extract according to every former detainee interviewed by the ap the un report from june