At the end of July, 60-year-old Oleg Kotov from the Kharkiv region passed away in a Kyiv hospital. He had spent nearly four years in Russian captivity. Oleg was not returned home until June 2026. This was reported by “Glavkom,” citing an article by Austrian journalist Stefan Schocker for the German publication Die Welt.
The journalist met with Kotov in person after his return to Ukraine, while he was undergoing treatment in Kyiv.
The Story of His Captivity
Before the full-scale war began, Oleg Kotov lived with his wife in Kozacha Lopan, Kharkiv Oblast, which came under Russian occupation at the start of the war.
On April 23, 2022, Russian troops detained Kotov, who was 56 at the time. According to him, about 15 soldiers approached him on the street, and then they came to his home, seized his electronic devices, and took him to the train station.
Interrogations and Torture
During the interrogation, the Russians asked him about his sons. Kotov told them that his younger son was studying in Western Europe, but did not admit that his older son worked for the police in Kharkiv, instead claiming he was a construction worker. The occupiers already had information about his family and knew he was lying.
After the interrogation, Kotov was taken to a basement, where he was beaten and tortured with electric shocks. He was then transported to a hotel in Hoptivka near the Russian border, where the abuse continued.
