The elder brother of Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine, 59-year-old Volodymyr Podolyak, was killed on 19 May 2024 in the occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. New details of his death have come to light thanks to a leak of Russian state statistics, which was investigated by the Killed in Ukraine project. Previously, reports had only mentioned the death of a man who held the rank of colonel in the Russian army and was likely linked to Russian military intelligence. The documents now obtained indicate that he was killed in action near Kyrylivka.
- Volodymyr Podolyak was killed on 19 May 2024 in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region.
- New details surrounding the death were uncovered following a data leak from the Russian state statistics office.
- The documents state that he sustained a head injury as a result of combat operations.
- The man held the rank of colonel in the Russian army and is believed to have had links to the GRU.
- Mykhailo Podoliak had previously stated that he had had almost no contact with his older brother.
A leak of Russian documents has revealed the circumstances surrounding Podolyak’s death
According to the Killed in Ukraine project, Volodymyr Podolyak He was killed on 19 May 2024 in the occupied town of Kyrylivka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. According to a leaked Rosstat record, the cause of death was listed as an intracranial injury, and the circumstances of the injury were described as injuries sustained as a result of unidentified military operations.
News of the man’s death first emerged in the summer of 2024. At that time, researchers located his grave and published photographs of the burial site, but were unable to establish the exact location or circumstances of his death.
New documents link Podolyak’s death directly to combat operations in occupied Ukrainian territory. However, the leak does not contain any details about a specific combat mission or the unit to which he may have belonged at the time of his death.
What is known about Podolyak’s brother’s service in the Russian army
In the photograph displayed by Vladimir Podolyak’s grave, he is pictured in the full dress uniform of a colonel in the Russian army. Among his decorations, two Orders of Courage and a badge «For Service in Military Intelligence» are visible.
The researchers also drew attention to a funeral wreath bearing the inscription «From the CPS team». In their view, the abbreviation may refer to the Russian GRU’s Specialist Training Centre.
Journalists had previously established that Volodymyr Podolyak was registered in Moscow at the address of a military academy run by the Russian Ministry of Defence, which trains personnel for military intelligence. Taken together, these circumstances point to a possible link with the GRU, although the man’s exact position has not been publicly confirmed.
What Mykhailo Podoliak said about his brother
Mikhail Podolyak He had previously confirmed that his elder brother had lived in Russia for many years. According to him, Vladimir moved there whilst the Soviet Union still existed — around 1986–1987.
In 2021, an adviser to the President’s Office described his brother as a retired military officer with whom he has virtually no contact.
In February 2024, Mykhailo Podoliak also emphasised that he could not be held responsible for the decisions and actions of an adult relative who had been living separately for a long time. At the time, he denied reports of his brother’s links to the KGB or the FSB.
New details regarding the circumstances of Volodymyr Podolyak’s death have emerged more than two years after his death. As of 9 November, there had been no reports of any public reaction from Mykhailo Podolyak to this information.
