Alexander Sasha Troufanov, 29, who was 27 years old when he was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, had spent two birthdays in captivity.
He was abducted along with his parents, his grandmother, and his partner, Sapir Cohen. Troufanov’s father, Vitaly, was murdered on October 7, while his partner and female relatives were released in the November 2023 deal. He was notified of his father’s death after his release, Ynet reported.
Troufanov’s childhood best friend told Haaretz that as a hostage, he had been unaware that his father had been killed. “I can’t believe that you’re a hostage, and you have no idea that your father is dead. If you’re not here now, then I will give your father all the honor that I can for you. I will fill the void,” he said.
Sapir Cohen told the Italian newspaper Libero Quotidiano that she witnessed Troufanov “beaten bloody and thrown face-first into the ground” by terrorists.
Russian ambassador Anatoly Viktorov said that the release of Troufanov, who is also a Russian citizen, was “especially gratifying. The Russian Foreign Ministry and our diplomats in the Middle East, in coordination with the Israeli authorities and other interested parties, did everything necessary to resolve this humanitarian issue as soon as possible.”
Troufanov comes home
Viktorov said that “it was a priority in our contacts with the Palestinian side, which ultimately contributed to the release of Alexandre Troufanov at the first stage of the current exchange of detainees. I am sincerely happy for Alexandre’s family, especially, of course, for his mother, Elena Troufanova, and grandmother Irina Tatti, with whom we have been in touch all the time since their release with active Russian participation in November 2023.”
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said that “Sasha was brutally kidnapped from his home and shot in both legs. Seeing him today strengthens us and gives us great hope for the long rehabilitation process ahead of him. This is a moment of immense relief for us, for his friends, and for everyone who held onto hope and prayed for his return.”
Before being kidnapped, Troufanov was working in the Annapurna Labs division of Amazon – a company that has faced frequent criticism for failing to condemn the abduction of its employee.
The Jewish Affinity group of Amazon employees outside of Israel told Globes that the company warned them not to place posters or express any identification with their abducted co-worker.
“There was an initiative to hang posters stating how long Troufanov worked at Amazon versus how many days he had been held hostage, but the instruction was not to display them,” said one of the employees, who is a member of the group.