The wife of a fallen defender stated that she demands the return of her husband’s remains and has been trying to uncover the secret circumstances of his death for over a year.
Law enforcement is investigating the mysterious death of UAV operator Maryan Penkalskyi / © TSN
Recently, a mysterious and tragic story told by the wife of the 33-year-old serviceman Iryna Penkalska, who died in Donbas, gained public attention. The woman publicly appealed to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, several law enforcement agencies, and the public for help – she suspects that her husband, UAV pilot Maryan Penkalskyi, was murdered under extremely mysterious circumstances.
According to her, Maryan’s body was found in a semi-seated position, without a head, and a number of internal organs were missing. Furthermore, Iryna Penkalska claims she has information that not all of her husband’s remains were returned to her for burial, and with a tremor in her voice, she says that enduring several more burials would be extremely difficult for her.
Ms. Iryna shared the details of her search for the truth and the specifics of her own investigation in a comment to TSN.ua.
“I will tell you about something difficult. In July 2022, my husband received a draft notice, and the next day he went to the military enlistment office. He said he wouldn’t look for ways to get out of it, passed the military medical commission, and joined the naval infantry. He underwent extensive training, including abroad. He worked with new types of UAVs. At the end of 2024, he was deployed to the combat zone in Dobropillia, Pokrovsk district. On December 18, he informed me that he was scheduled for a mission on December 19 and asked me not to worry. He said he would request leave to attend the christening of our newborn child. He was very much looking forward to this child, telling his comrades that a boy was born. Around 4 a.m., I messaged him, but the message was not delivered,” recounts Iryna Penkalska.
Maryan Penkalskyi. Photo provided by Iryna Penkalska.
She continued: “Around 11 a.m., his commander called me and said they were looking for my husband and hinted that he had probably gone AWOL. I replied that my husband couldn’t have done that and already felt that something had happened. That’s when our search began.”
Maryan Penkalskyi’s wife has been seeking the truth for a year and a half. Photo provided by Iryna Penkalska.
According to her, on February 5, 2025, she received a call from the military unit informing her that her husband was at the morgue.
“When I regained consciousness, I later asked to be told what happened. I was informed that some local resident had found my husband’s body. I was told that the head was missing from the body, and the head was crushed. On February 6, I was informed that the body had been sent to Lviv. The documents stated that the cause of death could not be determined due to the absence of body parts and internal organs. It was a shock. I found a lawyer and began to uncover the truth. It turned out that both the heart and the liver were missing.”
She claims to have information that fragments of her husband’s body remain in both the Donetsk and Lviv regions.
“DNA has not been collected from them. I demand that this examination be conducted and that these fragments be returned to us for burial. It is difficult to comprehend that if they are returned in parts, there will be three funerals. It is very hard for me, very hard for his parents,” says Iryna.
Defending her husband’s name, Iryna Penkalska states that she obtained a court order to invalidate the documents according to which her husband allegedly went AWOL.
“The court sided with us and ordered the unit to conduct a repeated official investigation,” she clarified.
Both she and her lawyer, Tetyana Sadovska, insist that law enforcement agencies do not obstruct this case.
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“Justice is important to us. The torso was returned separately, and the military unit did not retrieve the head fragments, which we know were brought from Dobropillia, from the morgue. For a year and a half, we have been gathering information, finding out what actually happened. From the State Bureau of Investigation, we learned that there is no criminal case regarding AWOL concerning Maryan,” says Tetyana Sadovska.
In her opinion, the serviceman was murdered with particular cruelty.
“I have no doubt that it was a murder with particular cruelty. I don’t know what weapon or explosive was used to dismember the head and make the internal organs disappear.”
At the same time, she does not rule out that Maryan became a victim of saboteurs.
“The positions of UAV operators are always targeted by saboteurs,” she suggests.
According to her, many pieces of evidence were intentionally lost.
“How are people supposed to live, knowing that Maryan’s body parts are somewhere out there… It’s cruel. I have a cry from my soul…” says the lawyer.
She added that law enforcement is investigating a case under the article “Intentional Homicide,” and the investigation has been assigned to a group of investigators.
The Specialized Prosecutor’s Office in the Defense Sphere of the Eastern Region confirmed to us the existence of such a criminal proceeding regarding Maryan Penkalskyi’s death. TSN.ua has sent an information request to this prosecutor’s office for details of the case. Answers will be published as soon as they are received by the editorial office.
We remind you that former advisor to the Minister of Defense, Serhiy Sternenko, when discussing torture in some units, cited the story of Maryan Penkalskyi as an example.
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