Danila Minyailo. Photo: VK

The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation into the death of a teenage conscript in Russia’s far eastern island region of Sakhalin after only four days of military service, state-affiliated news outlet RBС reported on Wednesday.

According to Telegram news channel Ostorozhno Novosti, Danila Minyailo, 19, was drafted into the army on 3 July and deemed “fit for military service”, despite a cardiologist having previously advised against him participating in physical activity.

Minyailo was then sent to undergo basic training at a military unit stationed in Sakhalin, where he and his fellow conscripts were forced to engage in strenuous physical conditioning for several days at temperatures of +35°C without being given water, fellow soldiers told Ostorozhno Novosti.

Four days later, he was taken to a hospital in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the region’s capital, diagnosed with “fourth-degree heat stroke, asphyxia, and third-degree dehydration”. Minyailo fell into a coma and soon died. According to Ostorozhno Novosti, the command of his military unit later explained to his parents that an "accident" had occurred.

Following Minyailo’s death, his brother appealed to the head of the Russian Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, and the Kremlin with an official request for an investigation. According to RBC, charges of “negligence leading to the death of an individual” have now been filed.