Klimenko was born in
Stavropol Krai on 29 June 1977. A graduate of
Saint Petersburg's combined arms school, he served in North
Caucasus and in
Crimea prior to the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Klimenko was promoted to major general in May 2024. During the war in Ukraine, Klimenko's unit was accused of torturing Russian soldiers who refused to fight. Russian sources said that he had established a
concentration camp at an abandoned mine outside
Donetsk. He was awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation posthumously. ==See also==