Dmitry Neelov, Olenivka Camp Torturer, Killed in Explosion in Occupied Donetsk

On the night of August 29, a car belonging to Dmitry Neelov, the first deputy head of the Olenivka prison in occupied Donetsk, was blown up. Neelov is accused of torturing and mistreating Ukrainian prisoners of war.

Censor.NET reported the incident, citing sources in Ukraine’s security services.

According to preliminary information, an explosive device had been planted under the car. Neelov’s condition is currently unknown.

Neelov worked at the Olenivka prison alongside its head, Serhii Yevsiukov, on the night of July 29, 2022, when an explosion occurred at the facility. Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed and wounded in the blast.

In spring 2026, Ukraine’s Security Service (SSU) and the Office of the Prosecutor General charged Neelov in absentia with war crimes.

According to investigators, after the explosion, Neelov and Yevsiukov knew that a large number of people had been wounded but delayed evacuating the injured to medical facilities.

Law enforcement authorities suspect them of mistreating prisoners of war and of intentional killing.

In December 2024, a car belonging to Serhii Yevsiukov was blown up in occupied Donetsk. Yevsiukov was killed, while his wife was injured.

The Olenivka Prison Massacre

On the morning of July 29, 2022, Russian propaganda media outlets reported that Ukrainian prisoners of war held at the Olenivka prison in the occupied Donetsk region had been killed.

Russia’s disinformation campaign claimed that Ukraine had launched a strike on the prison.

Later, the SSU released an intercepted conversation between members of the Russian-backed “Donetsk People Republic” forces. In the recording, they discuss staging a provocation and detonating explosives inside the prison.

According to intelligence reports, the Russian side did not initially intend to kill the Ukrainian prisoners of war held in Olenivka.

Instead, a decision was made to execute them to cover up evidence of torture and the inhumane conditions in which they were being held.