A Ukrainian man has shared his miracle escape from near certain death after he burrowed his way to safety after being blindfolded, beaten, bound, shot and buried alive by Russian forces.
Mykola Kulichenko, a 33-year-old from northeastern Ukraine told CNN that he was abducted by the Russian army along with his two brothers, both of whom were killed.
An emotional Kulichenko told a CNN reporter that over a four day period he was bound and beaten with a metal rod until he lost consciousness before being shot at point-blank range in the mouth.
The bullet, however, missed and a quick-thinking Kulichenko 'played dead.'
After somehow surviving the horrific ordeal, the Ukrainian army reserve stayed motionless as Putin's executioners began to bury him alive along with his two deceased brothers.
Kulichenko then burrowed himself out of the makeshift grave when the Russian troops had departed the scene.
Four days after being abducted by Russian troops, a traumatised Kulichenko returned to his sister's home.
Speaking to CNN, Kulichenko said: "It was hard for me to breathe since Dima (his brother) was lying on top of me, but using my arms and knees, I was able to push my older brother off to the side of the pit, and then I climbed out."
A war crimes investigation has since been opened by the region's prosecutor's office - one of 11,600 recorded to date in Ukraine.
