Russian Conscript Declared Dead After Being Sent to Ukraine Despite Suicide Attempt

Alexander Korolkov, a 22 year old Russian conscript from Dmitrov, was declared dead after going missing during an assault operation in occupied Ukraine. According to his mother, Maria Korolkova, the young man was sent to the front despite a history of mental health struggles and a suicide attempt during his service.

Korolkov entered military service in the summer of 2024 after taking academic leave from a vocational college. A month into his service at a training center for engineering troops in the Nizhny Novgorod region, he was diagnosed with mixed personality disorder and attempted to take his own life. His mother stated that he was a sensitive and homebound boy who could not handle the pressure of the army.

Following his time at the training center, Korolkov was sent to a military unit in Boguchar, Voronezh region, where he was treated at a psychoneurological clinic. Although his mother was assured he would remain at the unit, Korolkov signed a contract for service in Ukraine five days after his discharge from the clinic. Maria Korolkova believes the contract was fabricated and claims her son told her he was pushed into signing it after a difficult conversation with superiors.

Korolkov was deployed to the occupied territories in April 2025, where he went missing. In the summer of 2026, the military unit petitioned a court to have him declared dead, and his mother subsequently received a death certificate. Maria Korolkova later participated in the Immortal Regiment march in St. Petersburg to draw attention to her son's case, noting that the event has evolved into a memorial for contract soldiers and mercenaries.