Russian general, commander of the 5th separate motorized rifle brigade, was killed in the war against Ukraine

Russian Major General Pavel Klymenko, who commanded the 5th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade, was killed in the war against Ukraine.

His death was reported by a pro-war publicist, which was picked up by the Russian media.

His sisters confirmed Klymenko’s death in the comments to the post, the media reported. At first, their comments disappeared under the post, and then the public deleted the post about Klymenko’s death, but posted a new one. The death of the soldier was also reported by his sister Kateryna Klymenko in a conversation with Astra.

Before the start of the full-scale war, Klymenko served in the annexed Crimea. He was promoted to the rank of major general in May 2024. 

In August, Astra reported that soldiers of the 5th Motorized Rifle Brigade, commanded by Klymenko, were torturing Russian soldiers who refused to go on an assault. The newspaper’s sources named Ilya Ivanov, Klymenko’s deputy, as the organizer of the torture.

According to Astra, the brigade killed an American, Russell Bentley, who worked for the Sputnik propaganda agency. The publication reported that Ivanov’s subordinates detained him in Donetsk in April, broke his phone, put him in a car and drove him to an unknown destination. Some time later, information appeared about Bentley’s death.