Ukrainian defender Serhii Udut, who spent three and a half years in captivity, has died

Marine and Mariupol defender Serhii Udut, who returned home in October 2025 after three and a half years in captivity, has died in Odesa Oblast.

Source: his mother Olena Udut; the Rozdilna hromada on Facebook 

Quote from Olena: "He held out where it seemed impossible to hold out. He went through pain, fear and captivity, and came home… but sadly, his heart couldn't withstand the toll of that terrible war. It's hard to find the words when death takes someone who had already given so much for Ukraine. He leaves behind a memory that time will not erase, and gratitude for his courage, bravery and service."

Details: Olesia Bohdanova, daughter of another Mariupol defender and a member of the community of families of the 501st Separate Naval Infantry Brigade POWs, said Serhii died from a blood clot.

Serhii held the rank of junior sergeant and served with the 36th Separate Mykhailo Bilynskyi Marine Brigade. He was a defender of Mariupol, where he was later taken prisoner by Russian forces, Suspilne Odesa reported.

He was held in occupied Luhansk Oblast and in Russia's Kemerovo Oblast. His mother Olena sent more than 450 inquiries to find out her son's fate, but the Russians did not allow him to make a single phone call or write to his family.

Serhii returned home in October 2025 as part of a prisoner exchange. A month later, following rehabilitation, he was welcomed back to his hometown of Rozdilna, where his daughter, mother, friends and fellow soldiers were waiting for him.

"There were so many emotions. When I hugged him, there were tears, joy, sadness – I went through every emotion. It was so strange to greet him with a hug after four years. But I believed he would come back," his daughter Yevheniia said at the time.

After returning, Serhii took part in meetings with pupils at local schools and volunteers, telling them about his service and his experience in captivity.

Quote from the hromada: "Today it is especially hard to grasp that Serhii's life ended so soon. A man who went through the defence of Mariupol, captivity, and finally made it home, has passed away far too early [...]

Serhii Udut will forever remain in our community's memory as a defender of Ukraine who fulfilled his military duty, endured extraordinarily difficult trials, and returned home to Rozdilna."

Background: In late July, former police officer Oleh Kotov from Kharkiv Oblast, who was abducted in 2022 and unlawfully held by Russian forces, died in a hospital in Kyiv.

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