JK Rowling has praised a Ukrainian prisoner of war who says he survived four years of captivity by reciting all seven Harry Potter novels from memory to fellow inmates. The report highlights how storytelling and shared cultural touchstones can provide psychological resilience for prisoners enduring harsh and prolonged captivity, and underscores the human cost of Russia's continuing detention of Ukrainian soldiers.

According to the report, the former captive had memorised the entire book series before his capture and used it to entertain and sustain morale among fellow prisoners during his four-year ordeal in what is described as a brutal prison environment. Rowling responded publicly with praise for the man's resourcefulness and the power of storytelling in extreme circumstances, though further specific details of his identity, capture and release were not included in the available material.