The shooting near the pond
In the early hours of May 22, 2020, police were called to a private pond near Novoselytsia in the then-Popilnia district of Zhytomyr region. Eight visitors from Kyiv had been staying there. Seven were killed during a shooting and one man survived.
Ukraine's Interior Ministry said a local man who leased the pond was detained on the same day. Police opened proceedings under the provision governing intentional murder of two or more people. Later reporting identified six of the dead as military personnel or veterans and the seventh as a volunteer.
Investigation and charge
The official investigation accused Anatoliy Zakharenko of seven intentional murders and the attempted murder of the surviving man. In November 2020, police announced that the pretrial investigation had been completed and that the indictment had been sent to court after more than one hundred expert examinations.
Investigators also publicly disputed parts of Zakharenko's account of the conflict, including his claim that the victims had threatened him. Those statements remain prosecution positions rather than findings of guilt. A trial, not an investigative press statement, would have been required to establish criminal responsibility.
A trial without a verdict
The proceeding continued for roughly four years and involved a large number of scheduled hearings. By December 2024, the court still had not issued a verdict. Zakharenko died in hospital that month before the prosecution could reach a judicial conclusion.
His death changed the procedural posture of the case. On January 13, 2025, the Bohunskyi District Court of Zhytomyr closed the criminal proceeding because the accused had died. Reporting on the court order says it became legally effective on January 21, 2025.
Why the case remains partial
The killings themselves are documented and the prosecution identified a single accused person. But an accusation is not a conviction. Since Zakharenko died before judgment, there is no verdict determining his guilt beyond the ordinary protections of a criminal trial.
For that reason, Crime by Region does not label him a convicted killer and does not treat the closed prosecution as an adjudicated solution. The case remains Unsolved / Partial in this archive despite the extensive investigation.
May 22, 2020: seven men are killed near the Novoselytsia pond; police detain the pond lessee.
May 23, 2020: a court orders the suspect held in custody while the investigation proceeds.
October–November 2020: investigators complete the case and send an indictment alleging seven murders and an attempted murder to court.
December 2024: Anatoliy Zakharenko dies before any verdict is issued.
January 13, 2025: the Bohunskyi District Court closes the criminal proceeding due to the accused's death; the order later takes legal effect.
Current status
The case is classified Unsolved / Partial. Seven deaths and one surviving victim are documented, but the sole accused died before a court determined guilt. The January 2025 closure was procedural and is not treated here as a murder conviction.
Sources
- Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine — May 22, 2020 initial police account of seven deaths and detention
- Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine — November 2, 2020 notice that the seven-murder and attempted-murder indictment was sent to court
- Babel — December 20, 2024 report that Zakharenko died before a verdict after years of proceedings
- Zhytomyr.info — January 27, 2025 report on the court order closing the proceeding because of the accused's death