A Russian army general in charge of a unit alleged to have tortured its own soldiers and murdered a U.S. citizen was reportedly killed in Ukraine this week, becoming the eighth Russian general to die since President Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Major General Pavel Klimenko commanded the Russian ground forces’ 5th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, which is based in the occupied Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Klimenko was killed “on the front line near Donetsk” on Wednesday, according to a pro-war group on the Russian social media website VKontakte. It did not reveal the details of his death.
The investigative news outlet IStories reported that Klimenko’s sisters confirmed his death in previous social media posts announcing his passing. The BBC’s Russian service also said it was able to confirm Klimenko’s death with an unnamed close relative.
The Telegram news channel Astra reported in August that Klimenko’s 5th brigade ran a torture camp for Russian soldiers who refused to fight and extorted money from them.
Astra also reported that in April soldiers from the general’s brigade had allegedly tortured and murdered Russell Bentley, a U.S. citizen who had fought alongside pro-Kremlin rebels in eastern Ukraine. Russian investigators said four Russian soldiers were arrested on charges of abuse of power, as well as the desecration and concealment of a body.
Klimenko, a native of southern Russia’s Stavropol region who had served in annexed Crimea prior to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, was promoted to the rank of major general in May.
He is at least the eighth Russian general to have been killed in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion, according to the BBC's Russian service, which keeps a running tally of confirmed troop deaths in the conflict.
The last time a Russian general was reported to have died in Ukraine was in November 2023.
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