Russian soldiers shot seven civilians in Pokrovsk after demanding alcohol — “I Want to Live” project

Date: 29 December 2025

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The “I Want to Live” project of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War stated that two Russian servicemen shot seven civilians in Pokrovsk, the Donetsk Oblast, demanding alcohol from them.

A severely damaged four-story residential building with its roof completely destroyed, exposing charred structural beams, and multiple blown-out windows throughout the facade stands against a cloudy sky. The war-torn apartment block shows extensive blast damage, with debris scattered at its base and bare trees visible nearby, while the ground floor displays a blue street number sign amid the devastation.

The Coordination Headquarters received data from sources within the Russian Federation’s Armed Forces.

“[They] informed us that on the night of December 21, 2025, in house No. 84 on Tsentralna Street in the city of Pokrovsk, a rifleman of the 1st assault platoon, 2nd assault company, 1st assault battalion of the 30th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade (Unit 45863), Galimzyanov Rinat Ralifovich, born May 31, 1996, ID tag AB-537852 (originally from Bashkortostan, Neftekamsk, Nikolai Knyazev St., 8), and a rifleman of the 2nd assault company, 1st assault battalion of the 30th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade (Unit 45863), Agafonov Aleksey Anatolyevich, born March 27, 1987, ID tag Yu-810131 (previously convicted, originally from Buryatia, Kyakhta, Zhdanov St., 1), burst into the basement of a house where civilians were hiding,” the statement reads.

The Coordination Headquarters reported that a father and son – Zavadskyi Oleksandr Robertovych and Zavadskyi Yaroslav Oleksandrovych – came out to the soldiers, and the Russian servicemen demanded alcohol from them. When they were told there was no alcohol in the basement, the Russians opened fire and killed the father and son.

Then, having descended into the basement, the Russian soldiers killed the family staying there: father Dmytro Gulko, mother Oksana Gulko, son Dmytro Dmytrovych Gulko, and Oksana’s mother, Nadiya. A man named Oleksandr was also killed, and another one – Merontsev Petro Valeriyovych – was wounded and pretended to be dead.”

The project reported that after the execution, the Russian soldiers informed their commander with the callsign “Voodoo” that they had destroyed a group Sabotage and Reconnaissance Group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and set the house on fire.

Earlier, ZMINA reportedі that on December 13, nine more civilians were evacuated from the central part of the city of Kupiansk to the regional center. According to one of the evacuees, Russian servicemen shot a man and a woman in one of the high-rise buildings in the occupied part of the city.