Human rights activist goes missing in occupied Donetsk after reporting police at his door

Maksim Davydov, a human rights activist in Russian-occupied Donetsk, has not been heard from since the morning of 30 October, shortly after he said police were trying to break into his home, the outlets ASTRA and Mediazona reported.

At about 6am, Davydov told ASTRA that officers from a police anti-extremism unit had come to his door. He has been unreachable since, the coordinator of the Telegram channel Mobilisation DNR Live told Mediazona. According to his Telegram account, he was last online on 30 October. Police have also been unable to find him.

In February, Davydov’s apartment was raided. He was held for several days in a police detention cell, where security officers beat and choked him and threatened to shoot him. He was later released after the case drew public attention.

Davydov lives in occupied Donetsk without a Russian passport. After losing his Ukrainian one, he bought a fake Soviet passport in his own name to avoid being issued a Russian one. In October 2025, authorities opened a criminal case against him for forging documents, and in September a Donetsk court sentenced him to a year of probation-style restrictions.

Mobilisation DNR Live describes him as “one of the few people who were not afraid to defend the rights of ‘mobilised’ residents of the DNR,” referring to the Russian-controlled, self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. Davydov worked on the case of Vladimir Frolov, a disabled musician and teacher who was taken to a basement, beaten and forced to sign a military contract. Frolov died in April 2024.

He also worked on the case of Aleksandr Barlet, a Donetsk resident who was the target of an armed attack after an attempt to mobilise him failed. Barlet’s father was also shot in the attack and subsequently underwent several surgeries.