Volodymyr Tsukanov — Skelia

Date 11.02.2026

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.

32-year-old Volodymyr Tsukanov from Mykolaiv oblast died in hospital on 11 February 2026. The forensic exam showed blunt chest trauma and multiple rib fractures. His sister Alona told Babel he had time to tell her about a beating.

Chronology

  • 15.01.2026 — mobilized to Skelia. He was in the regiment from 15 to 20 January.
  • 20.01.2026 — police say he was badly beaten that morning. The suspect is Skelia junior sergeant Anatolii Kucher.
  • 21.01.2026 — he and about 40 other recruits were sent to the 1st separate assault regiment.
  • 11.02.2026 — died in hospital. Babel gives cardiopulmonary failure as the direct cause. He was delivered from the 1st assault regiment with bilateral purulent pneumonia.

Accounts

Sister

His closest relative, sister Alona, told Babel:

"I did not think I would find him in the morgue."

About the first video call she retold his words:

"He said he had first ended up with complete bastards who beat him badly and treated him like a dog, and now I am with good guys, everything is fine, don't worry."

The second time he said he was being told his ribs were broken. She did not hear from him again. The sister's words are recorded in Babel's investigation. Babel calls her Alona.

On 6 August 2026 Suspilne Zaporizhzhia names the sister Olena Taran and quotes her about the last call on 26 January:

"He told me: 'I feel very bad'... 'I think my ribs are broken. Because I cannot breathe.' That was the last call."

The same article dates the death 11 January. That conflicts both with the 26 January call in the same text and with Babel's date of 11 February.

Investigation

Investigators say Kucher struck the chest three times with his left foot and, after Tsukanov fell, kicked the torso and broke nine ribs. Babel links the police case in the court register. The article says only this sergeant was named a suspect.

Suspect

Babel writes that at the remand hearing the sergeant admitted guilt and said he beat Tsukanov because he saw him using drugs. Later, through a lawyer, he told Babel something else:

"I just ran up, jumped and knocked the weapon out of his hands. And I fell with him. I did not hit him with fists or feet."

Asked why he had admitted guilt, he answered: "I got confused."

Sources