Khyzhniak Oleksandr — Volovets

Date 09.06.2026

Source note: official statements, media reports, eyewitness accounts, and social media claims are presented as claims by the respective sources. They are not treated as established facts without independent confirmation, forensic documents, or a court ruling.

Oleksandr Khyzhniak, a 29-year-old Kyiv resident, died on 13 June 2026 in intensive care in Volovets following his detention and stay at a local TCC.

Timeline

  • 09.06.2026 — 29-year-old Kyiv resident Oleksandr Khyzhniak and his brother arrived in Zakarpattia on a business trip. Police stopped them at the Volovets railway station to check military registration documents and escorted them first to the police station and then to the Volovets branch of the Mukachevo district TCC and SP.
  • During his detention inside the TCC facility, the man's condition rapidly deteriorated. An emergency medical team was summoned to the center twice.
  • 11.06.2026 — following the second call and a sudden cardiac arrest, Oleksandr was rushed in critical condition to the intensive care unit of Volovets Central Hospital. He fell into a coma and was placed on mechanical ventilation.
  • 13.06.2026 — according to his godmother Nadiia Yarosh, Oleksandr Khyzhniak died in intensive care without regaining consciousness. Several reports citing police give 14 June as the date of death.

Circumstances and Versions

Relatives' Account

Godmother Nadiia Yarosh told Suspilne that Oleksandr and his brother were on a work trip to Volovets, police checked their documents at the station, he was taken to the TCC on 9 June and to hospital on 11 June, there were bruises on the body, and the papers named poisoning as the cause. The family filed police statements and rejects the poisoning account. Relatives describe hematomas, handcuff marks, a closed head injury, rib fractures, and a chest injury. Journalist Vitalii Hlahola, citing doctors, reported a different account: abrasions 5–6 days old, no fractures or internal bleeding found, and the coma linked to a toxic substance or to the heart.

Official TCC Position

The Zakarpattia Regional TCC and SP stated that staff acted within their statutory authority and applied no physical force or coercion against the individual. According to the command, the man suffered a sudden health deterioration with symptoms indicative of toxic poisoning by an unidentified substance, which prompted them to call emergency medical services.

Investigation

  • Zakarpattia regional police initiated criminal proceedings under Part 1 of Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine marked as "sudden death."
  • The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) launched a pre-trial investigation under Part 5 of Article 426-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (excess of authority or official powers by a military official committed under martial law).
  • The representative of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights in Zakarpattia Oblast, Andrii Kriuchkov, took the investigation under personal oversight. Forensic examinations were ordered to determine the cause of death and origin of injuries.

Sources

Media