Oleh Kotov, a Ukrainian civilian from Kharkiv Oblast, was not on my list of Putin’s hostages; I had not heard of him until it was too late.
Today I have added him to the list, only to delete his name after learning of his death.
A retired police officer, Kotov was taken into custody by Russian military forces on April 23, 2022, just two months after the start of Putin’s war in Ukraine. When Russian security forces discovered that his son was an active police officer in Ukraine, they began torturing him by means of beatings, electric shock, mock executions, psychological pressure, and complete isolation from his family.
He was moved to several different locations in Russia over the ensuing four years, until he was finally released as part of a prisoner exchange. During his incarceration, he had become ill and was told he had “persistent pneumonia,” though he was not given any medical care.
When Kotov finally returned home to Ukraine on June 5, 2026, he was diagnosed with cancer, and died in a hospital in Kyiv in late July — just seven days after his last interview. [Censor.net, August 7, 2026.]
*. *. *
On August 11th, I reported on the release of American hostage Robert Gilman, who was also sent home in what was described as near-death physical condition.
I don’t know how many more of these cases have already occurred; but it is clear that the treatment of prisoners of war and political prisoners under the Putin regime are being treated horrifically, and in clear violation of international law.
As Oleh Kotov himself said in one of his last interviews after returning to Ukraine:
“This evil must be defeated.” [Id.]
That is obviously a monumental understatement.
*. *. *
This being Sunday, here again is the list of those political prisoners known to me:
Prisoners of War:
The 20,000+ Kidnapped Ukrainian Children
The People of Ukraine
Immigrant Detainees in Russia:
Migrants from the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
Endangered Exiles:
Pavel “Pasha” Talankin
Mikita Losik
Yulia Navalnaya
Oleg Orlov
Countless Journalists and Other Dissidents
Political Prisoners:
In Afghanistan:
Mahmoud Habibi (Afghan-American)
Paul Overby (American, missing since 2018)
In Azerbaijan:
The “Azerbaijan 7”:
– Farid Mehralizada
– Ulvi Hasanli
– Sevinj Abbasova (Vagifqiai)
– Mahammad Kekalov
– Hafiz Babali
– Nargiz Absalamova
– Elnara Gasimova
In Belarus:
Andrei Chapiuk
Uladzimir Labkovich
Andrzej Poczobut
Marfa Rabkova
Valiantsin Stafanovic
Yuras Zyankovich
In Georgia:
Mzia Amaglobeli
In Russia:
The “Crimea 8”:
– Oleg Antipov
– Artyom Azatyan
– Georgy Azatyan
– Aleksandr Bylin
– Roman Solomko
– Artur Terchanyan
– Dmitry Tyazhelykh
– Vladimir Zloba
James Scott Rhys Anderson (British)
Aleksandr Andreyev
David Barnes (American)
Yevgenia Berkovich
Gordon Black (American)
Hayden Davies (British)
Yury Dmitriyev
Anastasia Dyudyaeva
Antonina Favorskaya
Konstantin Gabov
Robert Gilman (American)
Stephen James Hubbard (American)
Sergey Karelin
Timur Kishukov
Vadim Kobzev
Darya KozyrevaOleh Kotov
Artyom Kriger
Michael Travis Leake (American)
Aleksei Liptser
Mikhail Loshchinin
Grigory Melkonyants
Boris Nadezhdin
Nika NovakSvetlana Petriichuk
Leonid Pshenychnov (in Russian-occupied Crimea)
Ilya Remeslo
Nadezhda Rossinskaya (a.k.a. Nadin Geisler)
Lev Schlossberg
Sofiane Sehili (French)
Igor Sergunin
Dmitry Shatresov
Robert Shonov
Grigory Skvortsov
Eugene Spector (American)
Joseph Tater (American, disappeared)Karina Tsurkan
Laurent Vinatier
Robert Romanov Woodland (American)
You have not been, and will not be, forgotten. Stay strong.
Just sayin’ . . .
Brendochka
8/16/26
