Alexander Ryabykh, a 28-year-old resident of Donetsk, has no citizenship of Ukraine, Russia, or the “DPR.” The only identification he had was a Ukrainian birth certificate. However, on February 22, 2022, he was abducted on the street by armed men and sent to war with Ukraine, although he did not receive a summons to mobilize, was not a volunteer and did not sign a contract, his common-law wife Lada tells ASTRA.
“They threatened him with guns, they said he would be shot if he did not go with them. He was then sent to a school where there were many other men. They were kept in the school gym. At that time, he only had a Ukrainian birth certificate,” the girl says.
Ryabykh has a congenital heart threshold and was registered at the Republican Psychiatric Hospital due to suicide attempts.
On December 5, 2022, he was shot in the lung at the front, resulting in cysts. When the man was admitted to the hospital, the command announced that immediately after his discharge, the young man would go back to the front line. He was taken to the location, but on February 3, 2023, Ryabykh escaped and was declared a prisoner (unauthorized abandonment of the unit). He received no compensation for his injury, and his salary as a private soldier was 18,000 rubles.
The man was caught by the military commandant’s office on August 9, 2025 — his friends handed him over for 50,000 rubles. At the same time, Ryabykh was beaten up in the military commander’s office on Fedor Zaitsev Street, Lada says. After that, Alexander was sent to the 121st department of the Investigative Committee, from where the man was taken to the assault brigade of military unit No. 42600. At the same time, Ryabykh is still wanted under Part 5 of Article 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (unauthorized abandonment of a unit) — the case was initiated by the same 121st department of the Investigative Committee.
On May 20, 2026, Ryabykh passed the Military Medical Examination (military medical commission) at the Sochi Primary Health Care Center No. 9 in Donetsk, where he was given the “A” (fit) category. According to Lada, in this institution, all military personnel are assigned the appropriate category in order to be sent to the front.
The man was given a temporary identity card by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, but Lada cannot get a power of attorney from Ryabykh to file a lawsuit.
“Since October, my husband has not been able to get a Russian passport, as they cannot confirm his identity. A counter question arises —how did they get him a temporary identity card from the Ministry of Defense?” — says Lada.
ASTRA searched Alexander Ryabykh’s personal information databases and did not find the man’s passport data.
The civilian wife of the abducted man complained to the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, through the reception, to the military prosecutor’s office, as well as to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. According to Lada, “a miracle happened” and the Ministry of Defense called her back to clarify information about the Pockmarks. However, so far this has not yielded results, and the young man is being threatened with being sent to storm — three minor children are waiting for him at home.
