Serhiy Horbatenko

Affiliated media: Donbass Realii , Journalist

Incident date: November 20, 2025

Attack type:

• Attempted murder

Who attacked: от военных

Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Location: Ukraine, Donetsk Oblast, Liman

Additional information:

On 20 November, a Russian FPV drone struck an evacuation vehicle near Lyman in Donetsk Oblast. The car was being used by Serhiy Horbatenko, a correspondent for the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty project Donbas Realii. The fibre-optic FPV drone had been lying in wait and deliberately targeted the evacuation vehicle. On board were Devon Masser, a US volunteer with the humanitarian organisation Plain Compassion Crisis Response; two police officers from White Angel, the Donetsk police’s civilian evacuation unit; and Donbas Realii journalist Serhiy Horbatenko. The volunteer who was driving sustained facial shrapnel injuries. Horbatenko was unharmed and said he had been wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet at the time of the strike.