An ATO veteran was kidnapped and tortured to death. Law enforcement officers reported suspicions to three Russian soldiers in absentia

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the National Police have identified three more Russian soldiers who, during the occupation of the city of Izyum in the Kharkiv region, kidnapped an ATO veteran — he later died from torture. Law enforcement officers call the Russian soldiers war criminals and have informed all three in absentia of the suspicion.

This is reported by SBU.

According to the investigation, the suspects are:

• platoon commander of the 6th separate tank brigade of the Russian Federation Airat Azimshin;
• deputy platoon commander of the 6th separate tank brigade of the Russian Federation, Safaral Andrianov;
• commander of the automobile division of the 26th tank regiment of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Aslanbek Kabardov.

These groups captured the village of Ivanchukivka (Izyum district, Kharkiv region), at the beginning of a full-scale invasion. And the defendants in the case, as established by Ukrainian law enforcement officers, participated in mass repressions against local residents.

According to the investigation, in early April 2022, Ayrat Azimshin, Safaral Andrianov, and Aslanbek Kabardov broke into the private home of a former ATO participant. They dragged the 57-year-old victim into the yard, tied him up, and began demanding the firearm that the man allegedly had.

The Russian military used this as a “pretext to investigate” — they imprisoned the man in a Russian torture chamber in the temporarily occupied part of the Kharkiv region. He was later taken to a prison in the Russian Federation. There, he was tortured to death.

All three defendants were notified in absentia of suspicion of violating the laws and customs of war. Comprehensive measures are underway to hold each of them accountable.

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