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Car bomb reportedly targets Dmitry Neelov, Ukraine war crimes suspect linked to Olenivka POW deaths, in occupied Donetsk

Source: Ukrainska Pravda

A car belonging to Dmitry Neelov — first deputy head of the Olenivka penal colony in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (“DNR”) — was blown up in occupied Donetsk overnight on August 28–29, Ukrainian news outlets Censor.NET and Ukrainska Pravda said, citing sources.

The outlets said an explosive device had been planted under the car. Neither said whether Neelov was hurt.

On July 29, 2022, a missile strike hit the penal colony in the village of Olenivka, 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Donetsk, killing 53 Ukrainian prisoners of war and wounding 75 others. Ukraine’s General Staff blamed Russia for the attack; Russia’s Defense Ministry blamed Ukraine.

The colony’s former head, Sergey Yevsyukov, was killed in a car bombing in central Donetsk in December 2024. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) soon said it had detained a Donetsk resident suspected of involvement in the bombing.

Two years after the missile strike, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) named Yevsyukov and his deputy, Dmitry Neelov, as suspects. Ukrainian investigators said the pair had deliberately delayed evacuating wounded Ukrainian prisoners to medical facilities. In spring 2026, the SBU and Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office charged Neelov with war crimes. Ukraine has accused him of torturing, beating, and humiliating Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians.

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