The girlfriend of a Ukrainian man who was allegedly kidnapped and brutally murdered while holidaying in Bali has spoken publicly about his final moments, revealing how ransom demands and disturbing videos of his torture reached her hours after he disappeared.
Yeva Mishalova, 25, recounted the ordeal involving her boyfriend, Igor Komarov, 28, during a podcast uploaded on October 26 with Ukrainian influencer Basil Tymoshenko.
The couple were enjoying a holiday in Jimbaran, Bali, and had been taking motorcycle lessons together.
On the night of February 15, Komarov reportedly left for motorcycle training between 8pm and 9pm, telling Mishalova he would return shortly.
“I’ll text you in half an hour. Order me a club sandwich,” he reportedly told her.
At around 9.30pm, he returned to collect his helmet and said his instructor wanted to take him outside the hotel grounds to practise “cornering”.
Mishalova, who was washing her hair at the time, said she barely saw his face but warned him that riding outside in the dark sounded dangerous.
“No, no, kitten, kitten, don’t worry. I’ll be back soon,” he reportedly replied.
Komarov messaged her at around 10pm but stopped responding about an hour later.
The situation took a horrifying turn around midnight when Mishalova received voice recordings from an unknown sender, followed by videos showing Komarov’s injuries and demands for money.
“They started sending videos and saying, ‘10 million, 10 million, 10 million’,” she said.
Recounting the alleged abuse, Mishalova said Komarov had been severely beaten, with his fingers and ribs also injured.
“First they beat him very badly. Then there was what they did to his fingers. Then his ribs,” she said.
She claimed all those involved had taken part in the violence, although she did not know who specifically inflicted each injury.
Mishalova also said she still had additional unpublished videos showing Komarov being tortured.
“I’m trying not to listen to them again now, because they’re the last things he said,” she said.
Videos allegedly showing Komarov being tortured and pleading with his father to pay the kidnappers’ US$10 million ransom were also circulated online.
While the search was underway, Mishalova said she continued posting old photographs on Instagram to prevent her parents from discovering what had happened.
She claimed she wanted to remain in Bali to help find Komarov and feared her parents would force her to leave if they knew about the kidnapping.
“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.
According to reports by The Sun and AFP, Komarov was abducted on February 15 while riding a motorcycle with a friend. A group of assailants allegedly forced him into a car, leaving his friend behind.
The friend subsequently lodged a police report.
Mishalova claimed the motorcycle instructor who had been with Komarov left Thailand the day after the kidnapping and alleged that he was likely an accomplice.
Komarov’s remains were discovered by locals on February 26 near Ketewel Beach in Bali’s Gianyar regency, Jakarta Globe reported.
Further searches led to the recovery of additional body parts, including his head, torso, arms and legs, along a nearby river and coastline.
Police identified the remains as Komarov’s through DNA testing, comparing samples from the dismembered body with those taken from his mother.
Authorities later arrested the man who had rented the car allegedly used in the kidnapping.
An international manhunt is also underway for six suspects, including Russian, Ukrainian and Kazakh nationals, who are believed to have been involved.
Komarov was reportedly the son of a wealthy Ukrainian businessman. In May, private investigators working with his family announced a £75,000 (S$107,817) reward for information leading to the suspects’ capture.
Investigators described the kidnapping as professionally organised and suggested possible involvement by intelligence services.
Videos circulated online also showed Komarov allegedly admitting to involvement in fraudulent call centre operations targeting Russians.
However, Mishalova disputed the claims, saying his business activities 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 into the kidnapping and murder are ongoing.
