Detention: On March 5, 2022, Oleksandr Kostiuk disappeared during a trip to the Sumy region. He traveled to the village of Dzerkalka in the Romny district to assist with civilian evacuations. His car was found abandoned on the road, with documents and personal belongings inside. Witnesses reported a Russian military convoy passing that day.

Later, it became known that Russian military personnel took Kostiuk during the convoy's movement and transported him in an armored vehicle. He was held hostage, interrogated, and moved between various detention locations in the Russian Federation.

Sentence: As of July 19, 2026, no sentence has been issued for Oleksandr Kostiuk. Open materials from human rights organizations contain no information about any official criminal charges, trial, or sentence against him.

Kostiuk has been unlawfully detained by Russia for over four years without access to due legal process. In February 2026, it was reported that he is held in pre-trial detention centre No. 2 in Simferopol, incommunicado.

Oleksandr Kostiuk is a resident of Kyiv, a Ukrainian volunteer, and a philologist by education. He graduated from the Faculty of Philology at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, where he studied in the Department of Turkic Philology, focusing on Turkic languages and cultures.

After the start of the full-scale war, Oleksandr returned to Ukraine. His wife, Marina, and two minor daughters were in Kyiv at that time. Despite the danger, Oleksandr decided to return to Ukraine and help people in conflict zones.

Upon returning, he engaged in volunteer activities, including assisting with the evacuation of civilians from dangerous areas.

On March 5, 2022, Oleksandr traveled to the Sumy region to evacuate people. During the trip near the village of Dzerkalka, his car disappeared along with him. Later, the car was found by the roadside without the driver. Documents and personal belongings were left inside.

On April 19, 2022, after one of the first prisoner exchanges, the family received information from a released Ukrainian who had been with Oleksandr in pre-trial detention centre No. 2 in Stary Oskol, Belgorod region. This was the first confirmation that Kostiuk was alive and in Russian captivity.

According to the released prisoner and family information, after the abduction, Russian military personnel transported Oleksandr for about ten days in an armored vehicle. He was dressed lightly, exposed to cold, and subjected to harsh conditions.

Afterward, Kostiuk was taken to a distribution camp in Russia. According to his family and the Crimean Tatar Resource Center (KTRC), he was interrogated about Ukrainian military and alleged 'spies,' taken to fields, subjected to mock executions, and threatened with physical harm.

On March 17, 2022, Oleksandr was transferred to pre-trial detention centre No. 2 in Stary Oskol, where he remained until April 14, 2022.

He was then moved to a correctional colony in Valuyki, Belgorod region, where he stayed until the end of May 2022. Subsequently, Kostiuk was held in pre-trial detention centre No. 1 in Kursk.

In 2022, the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed Oleksandr Kostiuk's captivity in Russia. Meanwhile, his family lacked reliable information about his whereabouts and health for a long time.

In September 2023, Oleksandr's wife learned he was in pre-trial detention centre No. 1 in Kursk. She received a letter from him. After intensified hostilities in the Kursk region, contact with him was lost again.

Oleksandr has health issues, including intervertebral hernias and protrusions, which existed before the full-scale war. Due to prolonged unlawful detention and lack of proper medical care, his family feared for his worsening condition.

In February 2026, the Crimean Tatar Resource Center reported that Oleksandr Kostiuk was found in pre-trial detention centre No. 2 in Simferopol. He is held there incommunicado, without proper contact with the outside world. Before this, he was held in a distribution camp, Stary Oskol detention centre, Valuyki colony, and Kursk detention centre No. 1.

As of July 19, 2026, Oleksandr Kostiuk remains unlawfully detained by the Russian Federation in pre-trial detention centre No. 2 in Simferopol. There is no information about any official charges, trial, or sentence in open human rights sources.

Information used from open sources: ZMINA, Crimean Tatar Resource Center, Suspilne Crimea, Radio Liberty.

Photo: Crimean Tatar Resource Center.

Update date: 18.07.2026.