By the decision of the UEFA Disciplinary Committee, Dmytro Kubryak returned to the first league referees' panel. On November 4, the Odessa native officiated at a match between U-19 teams "Zarya" and "Metalist" in the Ukrainian championship.

We remind that Dmytro Kubryak was among the volunteers who volunteered to go to Mariupol surrounded at the end of March. As a medic, Dmytro helped wounded soldiers who were hiding on "Azovstal". In April, along with Mariupol defenders, he was captured and spent nearly five months in captivity before being recently released.

Dmytro Kubryak told the press service of the UEFA about his work in Mariupol, detention, and return to Ukraine.

About release from captivity

"When I returned from captivity, I had a real emotional outburst. It felt like even the air in Ukraine was different than where we were. For exchange, we were almost 1.5 days transported by KAMAZ trucks and plane. We landed in Belarus and then arrived at our border by bus. The whole time, our eyes were taped with tape, hands tied up, and there was no understanding of where we were going. Initially, the thought was that we would simply be transferred to another colony since Olenivka is almost on the frontline. And during all this time, shelling was ongoing in Mariupol. The idea that it could be an exchange only appeared when we were loaded onto a plane. It landed on a long runway and then we traveled by bus for about an hour to the border with Russian special forces who psychologically terrorized us throughout the journey. Even humanely — they did not allow us to go to the bathroom for 24 hours. Not to mention that we hadn't been fed in over 1.5 days. They kept emphasizing that any sign of defiance would result in immediate execution. This, of course, didn’t improve our mood.

But then at the border, a person in a suit got into the bus and when I heard Ukrainian language, I realized I was already in Ukraine. Then it became clear that this was an exchange. I don't know what can be compared to this feeling. We stepped out of the bus, saw a checkpoint, the "Ukraine" sign, and crossed over to our side. A person came up to us, asked my surname and immediately handed me a phone. The first person I spoke with after being released from captivity was Andriy Vasylovych Pavelko. This was both a greeting and support from him. I was simply shocked because it was the evening of September 21, and on that day our national team played in Scotland. Andriy Vasylovych was at the stadium in Glasgow and came out for a video call. In Ukraine, we were met by volunteers, medics — this was an insane moment. Everyone greeted us and hugged."

About detention

"I won't make up anything — the attitude of the doctors directly in Olenivka wasn’t the worst. The harshest treatment was for those who were directly handling weapons. These are snipers, artillerymen, tank drivers. And those whom Russians considered responsible for the destruction of Mariupol or the deaths of civilians, as they said. Doctors also had to answer a lot of questions. They were interrogated several times. Asked about the presence of biological laboratories in Ukraine, torture, foreign instructors. Whether we saw this or not. It was stressful every time when someone's name was called.

Interrogations were constructed so that you are guilty from the start. Guilty for being Ukrainian. They called us nationalists, banderites, fascists. Considered us some kind of right-wing radicals. Accused us of destroying Mariupol. I tried to refute this because everything that happened and still stands before our eyes. I explained to them that Ukraine didn't have the means to destroy the city like this. They didn’t really deny it but explained that it happened because the marine brigade and the "Azov" regiment simply occupied their positions, and there was no other way to drive them out."

In Olenivka, we were in barracks where there were 500-600 people. Initially, all 800 of us. Overall, this was called the Volnovakha correctional colony. Since 2014, it had been decommissioned due to its proximity to Olenivka's frontline. But Russian command expected a large number of captives and in 2022 reactivated it. There were just rooms without beds. Initially, there was a bare concrete floor, then they started creating some conditions. Some mattresses, beds. They called this territory the local sector, and leaving its boundaries was impossible. There were also cells — classical SIZO. Cells with small windows for food delivery. We only dreamed of freedom there and fully understood how valuable it is. The whole time we were psychologically pressured. As if Ukraine would cease to exist, and we'd take Kyiv in two or three days. Already in the western regions, supposedly Poland and Hungary. A Russian doctor came, offered work. If there was a positive response, they’d immediately take you, change clothes, give you a job. But I didn’t even listen to his speech until the end. I said that I’m ready to sit here for 10 years but won't go with Russia."

About Steven Seagal's visit to Olenivka

"A week and a half after the explosion in Olenivka, the famous Hollywood actor Steven Seagal, Putin’s friend, arrived there. He walked around the colony from one barrack to another with reporters and escorts. And near each barrack he demonstrated fragments of rockets — "HIMARS". He emphasized that they were supposedly found next to this building, proving Ukraine's guilt. He said: 'Look what your brothers are doing to you.' But for us it was clear propaganda. By the way, the actor didn’t enter the barracks. Seagal addressed us through a fence like animals."

About the hardest part in captivity

"Personally, the hardest part for me in captivity was uncertainty. Even comparing it to ordinary criminals... They know how long they have to serve. There’s a limit when they should be released. This would greatly ease our stay in captivity. But with us, especially after the explosion, there appeared an understanding that we were not in a civilized state but in a terrorist state without any moral principles. Every day carried the risk of life."

About being in Mariupol

"Until the last moment, I didn’t understand the scale of what I would see in Mariupol. The helicopter landed at the Mariupol port, and it was a crazy contrast with peaceful Dnipro. We immediately heard explosions, unloaded weapons and fighters, loaded wounded brought to the landing site. All this took 10 minutes. And throughout Mariupol, everything that Russians had was working — artillery, ship artillery, mortar, grenade launchers, aviation, everything possible. We waited for and feared an air raid but managed to get through it all. Unfortunately, in the evening we learned that one of the helicopters with wounded didn’t make it back. For some time, we were in a bunker at the port. Then we were taken by motorboat across the strait to "Azovstal". We could have died at any moment in complete darkness, but now it’s perceived as if it was a movie. But I want to emphasize this — we came as reinforcements, and those guys and girls who had been there all along are all Heroes of Ukraine. Lack of sleep and rest were normal for them. And what impressed me — no one even raised the question of being tired. It's simply incredible self-sacrifice. As for medics — Mariupol became the limit of their work at the highest level."