The body of a man with a gunshot wound to the head, who went missing in 2022, was found in a field in the Kherson region. His friend is still missing

In the spring of 2023, a tractor working in a field in the Kherson region came to a halt after catching on a piece of clothing. The machinery inadvertently uncovered human remains in a field near the Bilozerka district. A grave containing two bodies with gunshot wounds to the heads was discovered. One of the victims was identified as Ruslan Aivazov, who disappeared in March 2022 along with Khidir Binaliiev, whose whereabouts are still unknown. The second body could not be identified. A DNA test showed no match to Khidir’s DNA, and his family continues to search for him.

Both men were from the Kherson region. On 26 March 2022, they set out together from Kyiv to return home. Ruslan headed for the Bilozerka district, and Khidir headed for the Chaplynka district. Kherson region was already under occupation at that time, but civilians could still move in and out.

Communication with them was lost the same day. The last time Khidir called his relatives from Mykolaiv.

“He said they were getting into a rented car and heading home,” recalls Ulmasoy Kabilova, Khidir’s niece.

Nothing more was ever heard from them.

They were not the only ones heading for the Kherson region that day. Another car carrying two brothers — Rashid and Hasan Deshadze — had taken the same route about an hour before Ruslan and Khidir. Rashid and Hasan reached their destination safely. However, they were stopped along the way. According to the brothers, they were stopped by Chechens in military uniform. They were threatened, and their phones and documents were searched.

“Rashid said they had no humanity. He described them as robots that pointed a rifle at his forehead saying ‘We’ll shoot you down right here, and we won’t get into trouble for this because we’re on our own territory,’” recounts Ulmasoy Kabilova.

Whether Ruslan and Khidir were stopped in the same manner remains unknown. They disappeared somewhere between Mykolaiv and Kherson. The circumstances and location of their abduction are still unclear.

“It’s been said that a taxi driver was with them — he also disappeared. Later, his car was found riddled with bullet holes. We suspect there were shellings between Mykolaiv and Kherson. According to eyewitnesses who passed by, they saw the shot-up taxi, but no one was around. Later, we were told that they had been seen in Russian custody and forced to dig trenches,” says Ulmasoy Kabilova.

For some time, messages were sent from their phones requesting mobile balance top-ups, but no one responded. A few weeks later, Ruslan’s family reported him missing.

A year later, Ruslan Aivazov’s body was found — confirmed through a DNA profiling. Khidir Binaliiev is still considered missing. For more than two years, his family has been waiting for any sign of his fate. There have been attempts to trace his whereabouts: appeals were made to the police, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Red Cross, and the Turkish Consulate. The family submitted documents, DNA samples, and formal statements — but so far all of these efforts have been to no avail. The only clue is a questionable message received on Facebook.

“We received a message claiming he was being held in Donetsk pre-trial detention center, but those providing the information demanded a large sum of money in exchange. We also reached out to Russian commanders, but they said they had no such prisoner. But these are Russians — we have no reason to trust anything they say,” says Ulmasoy Kabilova.

Yana Ilkiv, the MIHR journalist

This article was published with the support of the European Endowment for Democracy (EED). Its content does not necessarily reflect the official position of the EED. The views or opinions expressed herein are the sole responsibility of their authors.