A former senior officer of Ukraine’s security service (SBU), Volodymyr Lyapkin, who defected to Russia, has been killed while fighting on Moscow’s side, the Russian outlet Mediazona reported on Sunday, April 5.
According to the outlet, he was killed on March 17 while serving in a Russian volunteer unit.
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Lyapkin previously headed the operational documentation department of the SBU and was awarded the rank of major general in 2013.
Following the Euromaidan protests in 2014, he was dismissed along with other senior officials and later fled to Russia, reportedly settling in occupied Crimea.
Role in occupied Kherson region
After Russia’s full-scale invasion, Lyapkin took a position in a Russian-installed “security service” in the occupied Kherson region, according to Ukrainian authorities.
In 2025, the SBU charged him in absentia with collaboration, accusing him of involvement in so-called “filtration measures” and repression against civilians in occupied territories.
Mediazona said it independently confirmed Lyapkin’s death after initial reports by pro-Kremlin figure Oleg Tsarev.
According to the reports, Lyapkin was serving in the Russian volunteer unit “BARS-33” at the time of his death.
He was reportedly killed alongside Eduard Malov, a former Russian emergency services officer.
Mediazona noted there is no public record confirming Lyapkin officially received the rank of general in the Russian military, despite claims by pro-Kremlin figures.
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The circumstances of his death were not disclosed.
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