Mediazona confrims deaths of 15 Russian officers. They all died in a fire in Zaporizhzhia region, four more are awaiting confirmation

In early autumn, the project “I Want to Live,” which is run by Ukrainian intelligence service, claimed that on August 30, 18 Russian soldiers died on August 30, 2025, in the Zaporizhzhia region. The deaths reportedly occurred when a dry grass fire spread to the command post of the 35th Combined Arms Army. The widow of one victim told Astra that the soldiers had suffocated in their dugout.

Back then, Mediazona verified six people mentioned in the “I Want to Live” report. We are now able to add nine more names to the list, a total of 15 out of 18 reported casualties.

The “Goryushko” project, which also tracks Russian losses in the war in Ukraine, recently discovered a memorial plaque for Colonel Ilya Makhotin unveiled at the Saratov Artillery School. While the plaque does not mention the fire, it states Makhotin died “performing his military duty during the special military operation” on August 30, 2025, the day of the fire. According to “I Want to Live,” the officer was the deputy chief of staff for the missile forces and artillery department in the 35th Combined Arms Army. 

On September 8, a local media from the village of Pestretsy in Tatarstan, reported the death of Lieutenant Colonel Ruslan Shigabutdinov, sharing a photo from his farewell. On September 11, Revdinsky Rabochy, a small newspaper in the Urals, published an article about the death of Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Pashabekov.

The death of Lieutenant Ilya Sivukhin in early September was confirmed by the Sholom Aleichem Amur State University (Jewish Autonomous Region in Russia’s Far East), where the officer had previously studied. A message of condolence also appeared on the VKontakte page of Major Rustam Setdarov, who had not been online since August 30: “Sleep well, brother.” His death was further corroborated via the Probate Registry.

Mediazona also found death certificates for Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Konoiko, Majors Andrei Silin, Alexei Koltsov, Vladimir Filimonikhin and Vladimir Sulitsky, Captains Alexander Dmukhi, Vladislav Panin, Andrei Bogdanov, Semyon Ponomarev, and Private Yuri Fokin in the Probate Registry.

The date of death for all 15 servicemen is August 30, 2025.