Time to read: 6 minutes(s)

«I want to get the truth - my son did not kill himself."

Last fall, Danil Kovtun, a conscript from Stavropol, died in Crimea. Unit command claims Danil shot himself, but his parents don't believe the suicide theory. NeMoskva spoke with the 19-year-old conscript's mother.

Danil Kovtun He enlisted after graduating from college last April. He served close to home, in the city of Izobilny in Stavropol Krai. His mother, Danila, Nadezhda Kovtun, recalls that on June 3, during the oath-taking ceremony, the unit commander announced that conscripts would not be sent to Crimea. However, just three months later, September 2, despite the assurances of the command, Kovtun was sent to military unit 12676 in the village Perevalnoye Simferopol region of Crimea, where he completed a training course for young fighters. 

Danil never complained about anything, shared details of his army life with his family, and only once told his parents that he had been poisoned. 

Around the same time, in the fall of 2023, a conscript was “poisoned” in the same unit. Andrey Lazhiev, "NotMoscow" told the story of his death, the circumstances of which remain unclear to this day. 

Lazhieva, as Kovtun sent to Crimea in early autumn of 23rd. 
A month after being sent, both found themselves in Krasnoperekopsk, in the north of the peninsula. Whether they were transferred there or sent on a business trip, what the conscripts did in Crimea remains unknown to the parents of both; command hasn't explained anything to either the soldiers or their parents. 
September 21 Andrey Lazhiev called his father and told him that they were in “field camps, in some foothill area.” October 6Andrey reported that command had informed them that they had completed their training and were being transferred to the city of Armyansk, near the Kherson region. After this conversation, Andrey disappeared for a long time. October 15 Nikolai, Andrey's father, received a message on VKontakte from his son's colleague who said that October 8 Andrei is in the neurology department of the Naval Clinical Hospital in Sevastopol. The young man is blind, unable to walk, and constantly vomiting. He included a photo of Andrei with his story. Nikolai didn't recognize his son, who had lost 40 kilograms. In early November, Andrei Lazhiev died in intensive care.

Danil Kovtun was in touch with his family every day. 10 and 11 October He didn't call, and his parents became worried, but the next day Danil contacted them and reported that the soldiers' phones had been taken away. 13 and 14 there was no news from him again, and October 14 At 2:41 p.m., Nadezhda received a call from her unit, informing her that her son had shot himself.

The unit's command never reported the soldier's death to the local military registration and enlistment office.

Trying to clarify the cause and circumstances of their son's death, the parents began calling the political officer and the commander of unit No. 12676, but they never heard a unified version of what happened: the mother was told one thing, the father another. The commander also assured them that «“In 30 years of his service in the unit, this is the first case.”  

Version No.1This is the version the command voiced to Danil's father. On the day of Danil's death was not on dutyHe had dinner, joked around with everyone that evening, and went to bed in a good mood, but "something clicked in his head, and he went and shot himself." His body was found at 8:30 a.m. in the pillbox.

Version No.2, told to his mother. Danil was on dutyHe came home from duty, had dinner, was in a good mood, went to bed, asked to go to the bathroom at night, stole someone else's machine gun, left, and shot himself. He was found in the pillbox at 8:30, and that's when his time of death was recorded. 

"I asked the commander why no one had rushed to look for him by 8:30 a.m.? Don't they have formations?" He replied that formations weren't required.“- continues Nadezhda. 

The command initially denied that the soldiers' phones had been confiscated on October 10 and 11; parents were told that "the phones were always on and kept with the children." 

 But we contacted the parents of other soldiers, Nadezhda says, — and they also confirmed that the soldiers’ phones were taken away. 

 Nadezhda's husband called the unit daily to expedite the delivery of his son's body home. On October 20th, his escort finally called:

 He said we should understand that he would be paying for the coffin himself, and it would be nice if we wired him some money. Although we were assured they would buy the cross and coffin themselves, my husband said there was no need to waste time and that we would buy everything on the spot. In the end, our son was delivered in a small, narrow box without a lid.“, recalls Nadezhda.  

On October 21, the escort took the body to the funeral home and left. 

The unit's command also disagrees on how Danil Kovtun shot himself: the deputy commander for political affairs told his parents he shot himself in the neck, while the unit commander told him he shot himself in the mouth. However, Nadezhda and her husband don't believe either version—their son's face remained unharmed, with no signs of wounds, and his lips, neck, and teeth were intact. 

 Danil's face was spotless, without bruises or gunshot residue. I called the unit and told them to at least agree among themselves on which version of events to tell the parents.. According to the unit's command, Danila was found in full uniform. Would he have put on all that gear if he was going to shoot himself? — Nadezhda asks.

Danil Kovtun was a good student, practiced taekwondo, and competed. He graduated from the Stavropol College of Communications, specializing in Communication Networks and Switching Systems. At the college, he was remembered as "infinitely calm, unflappable, polite, and non-confrontational."

According to his mother, her son had many plans for his life. After returning from the army, he wanted to get a higher education, learn two foreign languages, and get his driver's license. 

 Nadezhda is upset that the family was not given back their son's watch and personal belongings, which were cherished as mementos of him. The parents were only given a flag and a cap.

To clarify the circumstances of Danil's death, Nadezhda wrote to the Stavropol Military Prosecutor's Office, Putin, and Bastrykin. However, the request to open a criminal case against Kovtun's parents was denied, citing "the absence of a criminal offense." However, further investigation is ongoing. 

Nadezhda believes that Danil wasn't the only conscript who died in the unit during this period. The mysterious death of Andrei Lazhiev, which occurred around the same time, confirms this: 

 My son didn't kill himself. I want the truth! 

A healthy young man, an athlete who had successfully passed all the examinations, was leaving for the army. says Nadezhda.