Sabotage Destroys 35th Russian Army HQ in Zaporizhzhia Region: 18 Officers Killed

A sabotage took place in the Zaporizhzhia region, killing 18 officers of the operational staff of the headquarters of the 35th Combined Arms Army of Russia.

The incident took place on August 30, 2025, near the village of Voskresenka, according to the project “I Want to Live,” a state project of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

Unidentified persons set fire to dry grass near the army command post, after which the fire quickly spread to the premises and dugouts.

The fire caused heavy smoke and the accumulation of carbon monoxide. As a result, the operational staff was unable to leave the command post in time.

The dead included several high-ranking officers. In particular, Colonel Ilya Makhotin, deputy chief of staff of the missile and artillery department, and Lieutenant Colonel Ruslan Shigabutdinov, who was responsible for operational planning.

Also killed in the fire were Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Pashabekov, head of the fire and nuclear destruction planning department, and Major Rustam Setdarov, a senior mathematical modeling officer.

Other victims included officers from the artillery, air defense, topography, and electronic warfare services. Several junior officers were also killed, including Lieutenant Vadym Yakovets.

In total, 13 officers have been confirmed dead, and their bodies have been evacuated from the fire.

At the same time, five more officers remained under the rubble and were not evacuated. Among them are Lieutenant Colonel Serhiy Konoyko, Deputy Chief of Staff Intelligence, as well as Major Volodymyr Filimonikhin, Senior Lieutenant Oleksiy Khorin, Captain Semen Ponomaryov, and Orlan-10 UAV operator Yuriy Fokin.

Thus, the 35th Army lost at least 18 officers, including several heads of departments and services.

Russian sources confirmed some of the losses. Several officers have already been publicly buried.

This year, on June 30, the Ukrainian Defense Forces also hit the command post of the 8th Guards Combined Arms Army of Russia.