According to his sisters, Russian General Pavel Klimenko who commanded troops within the occupied Donetsk Oblast, and allegedly ran torture camps for his own soldiers, passed away in Ukraine on November 7. Anton Geraschenko – former adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Minister – said that Klimenko died in a drone attack while riding his motorcycle near the frontline city of Krasnohorivka. However, the circumstances of his demise have not been independently verified. The death of Klimenko was first reported by pro-war Russian bloggers. His sisters confirmed that he had died in the comments of those posts. The Russian investigative outlet Important Stories confirmed that the accounts were indeed Klimenko’s. Klimenko was the leader of Russia‘s 5th Donetsk Motorized Rifle Brigade. Members of this brigade are accused of torturing pro Kremlin U.S. Blogger Russell Bentley to death in 2024. Bentley, who was a pro Russian sympathizer and fought against Ukraine in the 2014 invasion of Donbas but was mistaken as an American spy by Russian soldiers, has reportedly been abducted and tortured. According to Astra, a Russian news agency, Klimenko set up torture camps for Russian soldiers in Donetsk. Klimenko, according to reports, forced soldiers to give up their salaries in exchange of moving them away from the frontlines. He is also accused of using torture to force injured soldiers to join assault teams. Klimenko’s death was independently confirmed by journalists, researchers and other experts. He is the eighth Russian General killed in the war with Ukraine.
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