Russian forces kill five, wound one in Bakhmut District village in the Donetsk Oblast — Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office
The Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office stated that Russian forces opened fire on six civilians in Zvanivka village in the Bakhmut district of Donetsk Oblast, killing five and wounding one.
On October 20, 2025, a husband, wife, and their adult son were sheltering in the basement of their home, while their younger son had left to fetch water from a neighbor’s house. Soon after, Russian soldiers stormed into the shelter where the family was hiding and began interrogating them about the location of Ukrainian troops in the area. When the family failed to provide any information, the soldiers left.
Moments later, one of the soldiers returned and opened fire on the civilians with an assault rifle. Believing them all to be dead, he left the scene.
When the woman, 57, regained consciousness, she found that Russian forces had killed her family. Fearing for her younger son, she went to the neighbor’s basement, where she discovered his body alongside the remains of a 62-year-old woman and her 30-year-old son, both shot dead.
Despite suffering a gunshot wound to the jaw, the survivor managed to reach Ukraine-controlled territory, where Ukrainian authorities took her to a hospital.
Prosecutors reported that they questioned her and documented evidence of another war crime committed by Russian troops against civilians.
Under the procedural supervision of the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office, prosecutors launched a pre-trial investigation into the war crime that resulted in civilian deaths.
Investigators are conducting urgent investigative measures to establish all the circumstances of the incident and identify the Russian soldiers responsible.
