19-year-old Omsk resident Kirill Kholkin, wounded in the war in Ukraine and convicted of AWOL, was deceived and taken back to the front — where he died. The story of an Omsk resident was told to Mediazona by his relatives.
Kholkin got involved in the war in Ukraine at the age of 18. In November 2021, he was called up for military service and sent to a unit in Kolomna, and when a full-scale invasion began, he was taken to the front line. There, according to his wife Ksenia, the Omsk resident had to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense.
In September 2022, Kholkin received shrapnel wounds to the head and shoulder, and he had a skull fracture. First, the serviceman was treated in Belgorod, and then they began to transport him “from hospital to hospital” in different cities. In the end, he ended up in a hospital in Tula, but “the only thing they gave him there was nasal drops for a runny nose,” his wife emphasized.
After treatment, the serviceman was given leave — then he began visiting civilian doctors. In Omsk, according to Ksenia, Kholkin passed an examination that established his III disability group, but “did not have time to formalize it.”
When the serviceman returned to his unit in Kolomna, the command took away his medical documents, his wife claims. “They said: ‘You won’t go anywhere, you won’t have any disabilities,’” she recounts the words of the commanders. “And after that they also threatened him with a report on his transfer to the infantry.” As a result, Kholkin decided to escape from the unit.
During the time he was AWOL, he managed to register a disability; in April he came to the military investigation department for the Omsk garrison and said that due to his disability he would not be able to return to the front. A criminal case was opened against Kholkin for leaving his place of service without permission during the period of mobilization (Part 5 of Article 337 of the Criminal Code) — in July the court sentenced him to five years of probation. In this case, the young man had to return to service.
Urgency — AWOL — condition — death. A 19-year-old Omsk resident died in Ukraine, who after the verdict was again thrown to the front
Kholkin asked to be transported from Kolomna to the Omsk unit. According to Ksenia, the command agreed to this and offered to come to the Moscow region to complete the documents. In Moscow, a car was waiting for the serviceman, in which Kholkin, as he was told, was supposed to be taken to the unit in Kolomna. Later, the man told his wife that he was being taken to the border with Ukraine.
In the Belgorod region, as Kholkin’s wife said, he was handcuffed, his phone was taken away, and he was kept overnight without food or water. Soon he was again sent to the front line. At the front, according to Ksenia, the serviceman was not provided with the medications needed after a head injury. On September 19, Kholkin died from a shrapnel wound; he was survived by his wife and daughter.