Ukrainian citizen Artur Panov, who is being held in a pre-trial detention facility in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, is alive, and any reports about his death are untrue, Ukraine's Consul in Rostov-on-Don Vitaliy Konarsky said in comments to Radio Liberty.

"The latest information on this fact is that Panov is alive and well. I cannot give you any details because it is necessary to find out where such information [about his death] has come from, but it has not been confirmed," Radio Liberty quoted Konarsky as saying.

Panov was detained in the Rostov region in early December 2015 after crossing the Ukrainian-Russian border posing as a refugee. He was suspected of plotting a terrorist attack in Russia. Panov was a minor at the time of his detention.

The North Caucasus Military District Court in Rostov-on-Don started Panov's trial on February 14, 2017.

Some Russian media reported on May 1 that Panov had died of cardiac failure in a pre-trial detention facility in Rostov-on-Don.