They escaped from captivity and seized civilian in Kharkiv region: occupiers threatened to shoot his entire family. PHOTO
In the Kharkiv region, four Russian soldiers, having escaped from captivity, seized a local resident and, at gunpoint, forced him to drive them to the front line. Before releasing the man, the occupiers threatened to return and shoot his entire family if he spoke of the crime.
This was reported by the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, according to Censor.NET.
According to the investigation, the events took place in the summer of 2026 in the Izium district. Four Russian servicemen with call signs ‘Lesnik’, ‘Magadan’, ‘Puma’ and ‘Ibrahim’ had escaped from captivity.
The armed Russians forced their way into the yard of a private house in the village of Pidvysoke. Threatening the homeowner with weapons, they forced him to get behind the wheel of his own car and drive them towards the front line so they could return to their Russian units.
Throughout the journey, the man was held at gunpoint with an automatic rifle and a pistol.
When the car began to run out of fuel, the driver turned towards the village of Slabunivka. On leaving the village, the occupiers abandoned the car.
Before doing so, they threatened the man, warning that if he revealed what had happened, they would return and kill him and his family.
Two occupiers were killed, one was taken prisoner
According to the prosecutor’s office, two Russian soldiers with call signs "Puma" and "Ibrahim" were killed during an attempt to apprehend them.
An invader with the call sign "Magadan" managed to escape. His whereabouts are currently being established.
A fourth Russian soldier, known as "Lesnik", was taken prisoner. He is being held in a remand centre as a prisoner of war.
"Lesnik" and "Magadan" have been notified that they are suspected of cruel treatment of the civilian population, committed as part of a premeditated conspiracy by a group of individuals (Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The latter was charged in absentia.
The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by SSU officers in the Kharkiv region.
