Defending Mariupol: another Ukrainian soldier died in Russian captivity
In the spring of 2022, Oleksandr Ishchenko became a figure in the "criminal case".
The defender of Mariupol, 55-year-old Oleksandr Ishchenko, who served as a driver in the “Azov” regiment, died in Russian captivity. He was held in SIZO-5 in Rostov-on-Don and was one of 22 Azov fighters who are being tried in Russia on charges of terrorism.
Ishchenko’s death was reported by the “Meduza” publication, citing his lawyer.
“The date and cause of death were not named. The lawyer asked the court to request a certificate of Ishchenko’s death, the court granted his request. During the session on July 31, the court completed the examination of the evidence in the case, but did not proceed to the debate in order to wait for the documents about Ishchenko’s death from the pretrial detention center.” , – reported in the mass media.
Oleksandr Ishchenko was born in Mariupol and was married. He worked as a sailor and returned to Ukraine from a flight a few days before the start of the full-scale invasion of Russia.
On February 25, 2022, he joined the Territorial Defense of the Azov Regiment as a military driver. In the spring of 2022, he was captured by the Russians in Mariupol and became a suspect in a criminal case along with 23 other Ukrainians.
These Ukrainian servicemen served in “Azov” at different times, or were hired workers. Some of them participated in the defense of Mariupol and Azovstal, others had already left the service at the time of the Russian invasion and were detained at home or during the so-called “filtration”. Two of them — Davyd Kasatkin and Dmytro Labinsky — have already been exchanged for Russian prisoners of war and are currently being tried in absentia.
Oleksandr Ishchenko was charged with two counts — participation in a terrorist organization and attempted violent seizure of power. The case also includes nine women, most of whom were cooks who prepared food for servicemen of the “Azov” regiment.
