JK Rowling has praised a Ukrainian POW who endured more than four years in a hellhole Putin jail by reciting the author's Harry Potter books to fellow prisoners of war. She also sent the POW a signed copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which came as a 'complete surprise' to Mr Ivanov. 'When I was in captivity, I could never have imagined that one day I would receive a letter from J.K. Rowling,' he said. 'Her books helped my fellow prisoners and me hold on to hope, and her words have become a tremendous source of support for me. At the prisoner exchange, his wife Nelli, their son, Demyd, and friends brought a wand and other Harry Potter items with them in the hope he would be among the released.