"This evil must be defeated": civilian hostage Oleh Kotov has died after more than four years in Russian captivity
Oleh Kotov, a former civilian hostage whom Russia illegally held captive for more than four years, died after returning to Ukraine. Following his release, doctors diagnosed him with cancer that had metastasized extensively.
According to Censor.NET, this information was reported by the project "The Book of the Executioners of the Ukrainian People," which also published a translation of Kotov’s final interview with Austrian journalist Stefan Schöcher.
Oleh Kotov was detained by Russian military forces on April 23, 2022, at his home in the village of Kozacha Lopan in the Kharkiv region. Before the full-scale invasion, he worked for the police, and at the time of the occupation, he was already retired.
According to Kotov, after his detention, Russian security forces confiscated his electronics, took him away for interrogation, and when they learned that his son served in the Kharkiv police force, they began to torture him.
During his captivity, he was held in several locations in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine and in Russia. He described beatings, electric shock torture, mock executions, psychological pressure, and complete isolation from his family.
"This evil must be defeated," said Oleh Kotov in one of his last interviews after his release.
It was while in captivity that he learned he had a serious illness. According to him, Russian medical personnel spoke only of "persistent pneumonia" and, in fact, did not provide the necessary medical care.
On June 5, 2026, Kotov was released as part of a prisoner exchange. After returning to Ukraine, doctors diagnosed him with cancer. He died in a Kyiv hospital in late July. According to the project, his death occurred seven days after his last interview was recorded.
