Ukrainian serviceman Ruslan Romanov has died in Russian captivity while criminal proceedings against him were under way. The Russian side accused the soldier under three articles related to terrorist activity.
This was reported by the Russian outlet "Mediazona".
Details of the termination of the criminal case due to the defendant’s death appeared in the database of the Southern District Military Court of the Russian Federation. The note was entered on 15 October.
The defendant’s name was concealed in the court documents, but Mediazona journalists managed to establish that it was Ukrainian prisoner of war Ruslan Romanovych Romanov.
The Russian side brought charges against the captive under three articles: participation in a terrorist community; participation in the activities of an organisation designated as terrorist; and undergoing training for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activity.
As the outlet notes, Russian law enforcement regularly brings such charges against Ukrainian prisoners of war from the "Azov" and "Aidar" units. Such cases are usually heard by the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don.
According to journalists, the criminal case against the Ukrainian serviceman reached the court in late August 2026. A preliminary hearing took place on 22 September. At the same time, it is unknown whether the prisoner of war himself took part in it.
It has not been reported when and under what circumstances the serviceman was taken captive by Russia, which unit he served in, or what specific actions the Russian side cited as the basis for the charges.
The causes and circumstances of the Ukrainian serviceman’s death remain unknown.
- In October 2025, Dniproprudne Mayor Yevhenii Matvieiev died in Russian captivity. The man died as a result of torture, having sustained numerous injuries and wounds.
- In July of the same year, during a transfer to the Russian city of Ust-Labinsk, 74-year-old civilian captive Oleksandr Markov died.
- In October 2024, Hromadske journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna died in Russian captivity after being abducted by Russian occupiers in Berdiansk. The Russians brutally tortured the victim.