Dmitry Pazin, hailing from the Khmelnytskyi region, was honored with an apartment from Rinat Akhmetov’s Foundation after surviving more than three years in captivity. The keys and a certificate for the apartment were presented to him by the Foundation’s CEO, Ksenia Sukhovа.
Pazin, a captain in the border service, encountered the onset of the full-scale invasion while in Mariupol. In March 2022, during fierce battles near the Azovmash plant, he suffered severe concussions and multiple shrapnel wounds to his arms and legs.
Following his injuries, he was evacuated to Azovstal, but in May 2022, he fell into Russian captivity. During his imprisonment, he faced brutal treatment, including beatings, electric shocks, and attack dogs. Pazin returned to Ukraine in 2025 after enduring over three years of confinement.
Recently married, Pazin expressed that having a home is crucial support for his family. “We are sincerely grateful for the opportunity to have our own home. We thank Rinat Akhmetov greatly. We, the defenders of Mariupol, who were in captivity for so long, honestly lost hope for our return. But upon coming back after three years, it is heartwarming to realize that people still care and worry about us,” he stated.
The apartment is furnished and equipped with essential household appliances. The Foundation also noted that Pazin previously received treatment and psychological support from “The Heart of Azovstal.” After returning, he resumed work and is now running a business with his father.
Moreover, he has joined the educational grant program “Living Forward,” where veterans undergo business training, work with mentors, and develop business models. “At 30 years old, he has great ambitions to start his own business. He will be participating in our ‘Living Forward’ program along with PUMB and KSE Graduate Business School, which offers entrepreneurship education for veterans, with top graduates receiving grants,” explained Natalia Yemchenko, the Foundation’s supervisory board chairperson.
The Foundation’s “At Home” program aims to provide apartments for defenders of Mariupol with disabilities of the first and second groups.
