Ukrainian man, 28, kidnapped, tortured & murdered in Bali: His girlfriend, 25, can't bring herself to watch ransom videos sent to her

A 28-year-old man was allegedly kidnapped in February 2026 in Jimbaran, Bali, Indonesia, while on holiday with his 25-year-old girlfriend.

Both are Ukrainian.

Igor Komarov’s remains were discovered weeks after his kidnapping on a beach situated on the Indonesian island.

His girlfriend, Yeva Mishalova, has since spoken up on the incident.

Podcast

In a podcast uploaded on Oct. 26 with Ukrainian influencer Basil Tymoshenko, Mishalova spoke about her final interactions with Komarov.

She said they were taking motorcycle lessons and were enjoying their holiday in Bali.

On the night of Komarov’s disappearance, Mishalova was apparently watching American Netflix drama “Bridgerton” in her hotel room.

Motorcycle training

According to Mishalova, Komarov left for motorcycle training between 8pm and 9pm.

He had said he would return shortly.

“I’ll text you in half an hour. Order me a club sandwich,” he apparently told her.

At about 9:30pm, Komarov returned to collect his helmet and said his instructor wanted to take him beyond the hotel grounds to practise “cornering”.

Mishalova was “washing” her hair at the time and barely saw his face, but warned him that riding outside the hotel in the dark sounded dangerous.

“No, no, kitten, kitten, don’t worry. I’ll be back soon,” he told her.

At about 10pm, Komarov messaged Mishalova and then stopped replying an hour later.

Recordings

At about midnight, Mishalova received voice recordings from an unknown sender.

The sender also sent her videos of Komarov’s injuries and demanded that she send cash.

“They started sending videos and saying, ‘10 million, 10 million, 10 million’,” she said.

In the podcast, Mishalova recounted what the alleged kidnappers did to Komarov.

“First they beat him very badly. Then there was what they did to his fingers. Then his ribs,” she said.

“I don’t know who exactly cut off his fingers, who broke his ribs, or who did everything else. They all did it together. All of them. Every single one of them took part. They’re not human,” she added.

Mishalova also claimed she had additional unpublished videos of Komarov’s torture which she possessed.

“I’m trying not to listen to them again now, because they’re the last things he said,” she said.

Videos of Komarov’s torture and pleas allegedly begging his father to pay his abductors' demanded ransom of US$10 million (S$12.8 million) were circulated online.

Cover up

Mishalova said she apparently posted old photos on Instagram while the search for Komarov was ongoing to prevent her parents from finding out about the incident.

She claimed that she wanted to stay in Bali to help find Komarov.

“I understood that if my parents found out, they would do everything to get me out of there, and I wasn’t leaving without Igor,” she said.

Incident

The alleged kidnapping occurred on Feb. 15, The Sun and AFP reported.

Komarov was reportedly kidnapped while riding on a motorcycle with a friend and was forced into a car by a group of assailants.

His friend was left behind and later lodged a police report regarding the incident.

Mishalova claimed that the motorcycle instructor Komarov was with had left Thailand the day after the kidnapping and alleged he was likely an accomplice.

Komarov’s remains were discovered by locals on Feb. 26 near Ketewel Beach in the Gianyar regency of Bali, Jakarta Globe reported.

Subsequent searches led to the discovery of additional body parts, including his head, torso, arms, and legs, along a nearby river and coastline.

Local police identified the remains as belonging to Komarov through DNA samples taken from the dismembered body and compared with those of his mother.

The police later arrested the man who had rented the car used in the kidnapping.

An international manhunt is also underway for six suspects, including Russian, Ukrainian and Kazakh nationals, who were allegedly involved in the incident.

Business dealings

Komarov was reportedly the son of a wealthy Ukrainian businessman.

In May, private investigators working with Komarov’s family announced a £75,000 (S$107,817) reward for information leading to the suspect’s capture.

Investigators said the incident was professionally organised and suggested possible involvement of intelligence services.

The videos circulated online depicted Komarov admitting involvement in fraudulent call centre operations targeting Russians.

However, Mishalova claimed Komarov’s business dealings involved metals and grain and were legitimate.

“Someone who is being tortured will say absolutely anything,” she said.

“Even if they’d written ‘I am Elon Musk’ on that piece of paper, he would have read out that he was Elon Musk,” she added.

Investigations are ongoing.