Bio

Anatoliy Zakharenko was born in 1968. He lived in the Romanivskyi district of Zhytomyr region.

He worked in fish farming. He was the tenant of a pond.

Murder Story

The mass murder near Zhytomyr happened on the night of May 22, 2020 near the village of Novoselytsia, Popilnyanskyi district, Zhytomyr region. Nine men had gathered to fish at a pond near the village. One of them was the tenant of the pond. The others were Kyiv residents and old friends who had come to fish. Among them were former ATO participants and volunteers.

After drinking alcohol on May 21, six men went to sleep in a small building on the shore of the pond. Two men stayed with the tenant and continued to drink. Around 1 a.m. on May 22, a conflict broke out between three men. The tenant became the main suspect in the killings.

Seven people were killed. The youngest of the killed was 30 years old and the oldest was 60 years old. One man managed to escape. He heard the shots, ran into the forest, reached the village, and called the police. During the inspection of the scene, police seized five weapons.

The list of those killed included Senior soldier Andriy Moskalets (call sign "Borodatiy"), Junior Sergeant Vladyslav Mamichenko (call sign "Malyok"), Contract serviceman Senior Sergeant Vitaliy Vulchyn, a fighter with the call sign "Finn", Eskender Osmanov (call sign "Eskander", aka "Ukrainian Tatar"), Roman Khanenko ("Gedz"), a volunteer and veteran, and Oleksandr Bilous, an employee of the Kyiv National Aviation University.

A criminal case was opened under the article for intentional murder of two or more people. The suspect was identified as Anatoliy Zakharenko, a resident of Romanivskyi district, Zhytomyr region, born in 1968, who worked in fish farming. According to his wife, on May 22 he pleaded guilty.

On May 21, the National Police of Zhytomyr Region detained Lieutenant Colonel Ruslan Mshanetsky. He was the head of the Popilnyanskyi department of the Korostyshivskyi police department. Mshanetsky was detained while transferring money. He was accused of demanding a monthly bribe of UAH 10,000 from the same 58-year-old local resident who later became the suspect in the mass killing. The head of the Zhytomyr Regional State Administration called suggestions of a link between that bribe and the murder a manipulation.

On May 22, police said a narcologist found no alcohol in the suspect’s blood. A forensic psychological and psychiatric examination was ordered. On May 23, the Korolyov District Court of Zhytomyr remanded Zakharenko in custody until July 20 without bail. At the court hearing, the suspect wore a bulletproof vest and helmet.

Investigators ordered about 200 examinations, conducted investigative experiments, and interviewed several dozen witnesses. According to preliminary police findings, the cause of death for all the deceased was gunshot wounds with damage to internal organs. On June 23, experts found the suspect was aware of his actions at the time of the crime and declared him sane. On July 24, police announced that examinations confirmed the suspect was aware of his actions and was not in a state of alcoholic intoxication.