A car bomb in Ukraine's Russian-occupied eastern region of Donetsk has reportedly killed the head of a prison where dozens of Ukrainian soldiers captured by Russian forces were killed in 2022.
According to unconfirmed social media reports, Sergei Yevsyukov was killed and his wife seriously injured when their car exploded in the Russian-occupied town of Olenivka on December 9.
The reports said Yevsyukov died on the spot while his wife was severely injured and taken to hospital in serious condition.
No one has claimed responsibility for the car bombing.
Yevsyukov was the warden when the prison in Olenivka made headlines in July 2022 when more than 50 Ukrainian soldiers held there were killed in a missile strike. Another 150 people were injured in the explosion.
Russia accused Kyiv of killing its own soldiers in Russian captivity by striking the prison with U.S.-provided HIMARS missiles. Ukraine rejected Russia's claims, insisting Moscow was responsible for the deadly attack.
UN experts conducted an investigation and subsequently rejected the Russian version of the presence of HIMARS in the attack.
A July 2024 report by the UN also accused Russia of subjecting Ukrainian prisoners of war to "deplorable conditions of detention."
In 2023, Ukrainian authorities charged Yevsyukov in absentia with the "mass torture of Ukrainian soldiers" held in the penitentiary.
In July this year, Ukraine additionally charged Yevsyukov with failure to provide captured Ukrainian soldiers with timely medical assistance.
Yevsyukov, a former Ukrainian police officer, joined Russian-backed separatist forces fighting against Ukrainian soldiers in the Donetsk region in 2014.
Russian military personnel and Russian-installed officials have been targeted several times in Ukraine's Russia-occupied territories. In many cases, the attacks have been deadly.
Ukrainian officials usually say "guerilla forces" are behind such attacks. Russia accuses Ukraine's secret services of masterminding and implementing the attacks.
