Azov Brigade Fighter Oleksandr Ishchenko Dies in Russian Pre-Trial Detention Center

One of the captured Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) of the Azov Brigade, 55-year-old Oleksandr Ishchenko, died in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, according to Babel sources in the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

Ishchenko was a sailor from Mariupol, who returned to Ukraine shortly before the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion and later joined the Azov Brigade, as a driver. After his capture, he was tried in a “criminal case” by Russian authorities together with 23 other Ukrainians.

The date of his capture is unknown, but it is widely believed to have happened during the siege of Mariupol. Due to Russia’s continued refusal to share information on Ukrainian POWs, Oleksandr’s family learned that he was in captivity from a photo. No other information or communication was provided by Russian authorities to the family.

It is known that Oleksandr spent a year in the Donetsk detention center, and later ended up in Rostov.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that according to Ishchenko’s daughter, her father died 9 days ago. However, no one officially informed the Ukrainian side about this. There was also no official notification about the cause of death.

“With an urgent letter, I turned to the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, asking her to look into the tragic death of a prisoner of war held by the Russian side, and to inform me of the circumstances and the cause of Oleksandr Ishchenko's death,” Lubinets wrote.

The Ombudsman additionally informed the ICRC and the UN about the incident, so that the organizations recorded the fact of the death of the POW and paid attention to the conditions of detention of the Ukrainian POWs. 

“Ukraine demands that the Russian Federation strictly adhere to the Geneva Conventions - provide the necessary medical assistance, create a mixed medical commission, so that it would be possible to repatriate all the seriously ill and seriously injured.