A volunteer who helped Ukrainians to leave the Russian Federation died in a Russian pre-trial detention center
Kyiv • UNN
Volunteer Oleksandr Demydenko, who helped Ukrainians cross the border with Russia, died in a Russian detention center, accused of illegal arms trafficking.
Volunteer Oleksandr Demydenko has died in a Russian detention center. He helped Ukrainians cross the border into Russia and became an accused in a case of illegal arms trafficking, UNN reports with reference to Astra.
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Demydenko died on April 5, but his lawyer informed his family about the activist's death only three days later, Vot-Tak reported, citing sources close to Demydenko. ASTRA confirmed the information about the volunteer's death from another source. The cause of death of the 61-year-old volunteer is unknown.
Last fall, Demydenko was arrested in a case of illegal arms trafficking. Security forces claim to have found a grenade and two fuses at Demydenko's home. The volunteer said he found the explosives and did not have time to hand them over to the police. After the search, the activist's son handed journalists photos of Demydenko with bruises on his body, which suggested that the man had been tortured in the detention center.
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Demydenko was helping Ukrainian refugees cross the border through the only working border crossing to Ukraine, the Kolotylivka checkpoint. The volunteer was detained when he brought an elderly Ukrainian woman with cancer to the border and tried to help her return home. Demydenko was then arrested for 10 days allegedly for "drinking alcoholic beverages," then his home was searched, after which a case was opened for "illegal arms trafficking.
