Azov Combat Medic Tortured to Death in Russian Captivity After Leaving Azovstal Alive

Oleksandr Krokhmaliuk, a Ukrainian military medic and chief of the medical service of the Azov unit, died in Russian captivity after suffering injuries documented during a forensic examination following the return of his body to Ukraine, according to statements published on May 22 by Azov Deputy Commander Sviatoslav Palamar.

Palamar stated that Krokhmaliuk joined Azov in 2016 and was captured after leaving the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. According to Palamar, Krokhmaliuk was held in Olenivka and later transferred to detention facilities in Taganrog and Kamyshin, Russia.

According to Palamar, Krokhmaliuk’s body was returned to Ukraine in September 2025 as part of a repatriation exchange involving the return of bodies from both sides. A forensic examination conducted in Lviv on September 22, 2025, reportedly determined the cause of death as fractured ribs and blunt chest trauma.

“Yet another Ukrainian prisoner of war was tortured to death in Russian captivity,” Palamar wrote in a statement published on social media on May 22.

He added that Krokhmaliuk had served as head of Azov’s medical service at the time of his capture and described the final known location of detention as SIZO-2 in Kamyshin, Russia.

“This is yet another verdict on the system of international humanitarian law, incapable of protecting the health and lives of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russian captivity. The open and contemptuous violation of the Geneva Convention, torture and killings of Ukrainian prisoners of war are a deliberate barbaric state policy of the Russians. Systematic and documented, yet unpunished,” Palamar stated.

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Palamar also called on Ukrainian officials, diplomats, and human rights organizations to raise cases involving the deaths of Ukrainian POWs in international institutions, including the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the OSCE.

“The civilized world cannot limit itself to monitoring and reports. Documenting crimes is necessary. But it is not enough. Evil that does not meet a decisive response multiplies,” he wrote.

According to statements from Krokhmaliuk’s family published on May 22, a farewell ceremony for the medic is scheduled to take place on May 24 in Cherkasy.

Earlier, a Russian military court in Rostov sentenced captured Azov Brigade serviceman Vladyslav Shpak to 21 years in a strict-regime penal colony on what Ukraine and human rights observers describe as politically motivated “terrorism” charges tied to his service in Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

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