A senior Putin commander accused of running a torture camp for soldiers refusing to fight in Ukraine has reportedly been killed.
Major General Pavel Klimenko was the commander of the 5th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade.
He became notorious for allegedly running what has been described as a “concentration-style camp” for Russian soldiers refusing to go to the frontlines.
The camp was located on the territory of the abandoned Petrovska mine in Donetsk.
A report by the independent Russian media channel Astra claimed Russian refuseniks were taken to the camp and forced under torture to participate in assault groups.
Soldiers with severe injuries were also allegedly tortured until they agreed to return to the frontlines.
The camp’s officers, including Klimenko, have been accused of extorting money from the soldiers in return for an exemption from frontline duties.
Those able to pay the bribe were then reassigned to units in the Russian rear, it has been claimed.
Klimenko’s soldiers reportedly tortured Vladimir Frolov, an illegally conscripted music teacher with a third-degree disability.
Frolov, who tried to get a discharge due to his disabilities, was reportedly taken to the torture basement of the 5th Brigade.
His death certificate claimed he died during an assault, but relatives said that his body was so severely disfigured by torture that he had to be buried in a closed coffin.
Klimenko’s unit was allegedly behind the death of a 64-year-old American fighting with Putin’s army in the Donbas region.
Russell Bentley went missing on April 8, after reportedly being abducted by Russian soldiers when he was unable to produce identification documents.
Eyewitnesses claimed a person corresponding to Bentley’s appearance was led away blindfolded after being stopped by soldiers.
A self-declared communist, Bentley joined Russian forces to fight in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region in 2014.
Since December 2014, he lived in Petrovsky, Donetsk, with his wife Ludmila, who is native to the eastern Ukrainian region.
