Oleg Kotov, who returned to Ukraine after nearly four years in Russian captivity, has died
At the end of July, 60-year-old Oleg Kotov from the Kharkiv region, who had spent nearly four years in Russian captivity, died in a Kyiv hospital. The man, a former police officer, was abducted in April 2022 in the occupied town of Kozacha Lopana.
He was only able to return home in June 2026, but due to his poor health, doctors were unable to save him.
Austrian journalist Stefan Schöcher, who spoke personally with Kotov after his return, recounted his story for the German publication *Die Welt*.
Before the full-scale war began, Oleg Kotov lived with his wife in Kozacha Lopana, Kharkiv Oblast. The village came under Russian occupation.
On April 23, 2022, Russian troops detained the man, who was 56 at the time. Initially, about 15 soldiers approached him on the street. Later, the occupiers came to his home, seized his electronic devices, and took Kotov to the local train station.
During the interrogation, the Russians questioned the man about his sons. Kotov said that his younger son was studying in Western Europe, and regarding his older son, who had worked as a police officer in Kharkiv, he claimed that he was a construction worker.
According to Kotov, the occupiers already had his family’s personal information and knew he was trying to hide the truth.
After the interrogation, the man was taken to a basement, where he was beaten and tortured with electric shocks. He was later transported to a small hotel in Hoptivka near the Russian border, which the occupiers used to hold prisoners of war and civilians.
The torture continued there. According to Kotov, on one occasion, 14 people beat him for about four hours until he lost consciousness. After that, he was subjected to electric shocks again.
As a result of the beating, the Ukrainian man suffered at least three broken ribs. In total, the abuse lasted about a month. In addition, for 18 days, he was not allowed to use the restroom.
Later, Kotov was transferred to a tent camp in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation. There, detainees were also beaten and subjected to other forms of torture, including having their legs burned.
After being moved several times between detention facilities, Kotov ended up in Stary Oskol. There, his health deteriorated sharply.
At first, he was told he had pneumonia, but he later learned he had cancer.
Kotov did not receive proper treatment while in Russian captivity. According to him, he was given injections only a few times, without any explanation of what medications were being administered.
His wife sent him letters every month, but during his entire time in captivity, he received only two.
In June 2026, Oleg Kotov, along with other Ukrainians, was returned from Russian captivity.
At that point, he was so exhausted that he could barely dress himself. Upon his return, he was admitted to a hospital in Kyiv.
Stefan Shoher met with Kotov while he was still in the hospital. According to the journalist, the Ukrainian was extremely exhausted, unable to eat on his own, and was being fed through a feeding tube.
Despite the torture he endured and his serious condition, Kotov spoke of no resentment or desire for revenge.
“I feel no resentment or bitterness, but this evil must be defeated,” he told the journalist.
His eldest son managed to visit his father in the hospital. His younger son, who was abroad, did not make it in time before his father’s death.
A week after speaking with Stefan Shoher, Oleg Kotov died in a Kyiv hospital.
Earlier, in the Zhytomyr region, a 46-year-old man died on the premises of the district military registration and enlistment office and the joint stock company after being brought there to undergo a military medical examination. According to preliminary information, he began to feel unwell and lost consciousness, after which he was handed over to medical personnel.
As a reminder, new details have emerged regarding the death of a soldier at the Military Medical Examination Center.
In the Lviv region, a soldier was found dead inside a military conscription center.
Law enforcement officials in the Odesa region have exposed the organizer of an illegal scheme to smuggle conscripts abroad. According to police, 147 men were being smuggled out of the country under the guise of sailors.
The Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police have uncovered nine new schemes for evading mobilization in various regions of the country. As part of special operations, 23 organizers of these schemes were detained; for a fee, they helped men subject to military service avoid conscription or illegally leave the country.
