Russian troops killed three civilians in the temporarily occupied village of Kozachi Laheri, the Kherson region

Russian troops shot dead two men, ages 55 and 64, and a 62-year-old woman in the temporarily occupied village of Kozachi Laheri in the Kherson region, according to the Kherson Regional Prosecutor’s Office.

A stela at the entrance to the village of Kozachi Laheri in the Kherson Oblast

The Center of Journalistic Investigations, citing its own sources and local residents, reported that on the night of September 17-18, 2025, in the temporarily occupied village of Kozachi Laheri in the Kherson region, Russian soldiers shot three civilians — the Gladkykh couple and their neighbor Viktor Nadyeyev.

According to eyewitnesses, the soldiers were drunk. They broke into the Gladkykhs’ home and demanded alcohol. When the owners replied that they had no alcohol, the occupiers killed them. A neighbor who heard the shots came running and was also shot by the soldiers.

Local chat rooms spread another version, alleging that the soldiers tried to rape the woman, and when the men tried to defend her, all three were taken out into the yard and shot to death. There is also information that soldiers from Russia’s 11th Separate Guards Airborne Assault Brigade may have been involved in this crime.

Investigative journalist Oleh Baturin clarified that this information is also confirmed by Russian sources, which refer to relatives of the victims.
According to their version, the occupiers first entered Nadyeyev’s house, wounded him in the leg, and then killed all three, accusing them of collaborating with Ukraine.

All the victims were pensioners. Acquaintances specified that the woman’s real name was Olha Gladkikh.

The Gladkikh couple

Law enforcement agencies initiated criminal proceedings for a war crime that resulted in the deaths of people.

Prosecutors emphasized that the intentional killing of civilians is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and qualifies as a particularly serious international crime.

Currently, the investigation is ongoing.

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine is investigating the case.