військові - Правотворець

In March 2022, Vitaliy Kukol, a resident of the village of Kamyanka, Sumy region, remained in the community when the front was rapidly approaching the Trostyanets district. At a time when local authorities and law enforcement officers were evacuating, Kukol organized the mining of the road, helped with the evacuation of civilians, and passed intelligence to the Ukrainian military. He acted as best he could. In the absence of state support, he made homemade weapons. He kept them as a means of defense.

However, two years later, the state put the defense attorney on trial, not the criminal.

On May 15, 2025, the Konotop City District Court found Vitaliy Kukol guilty of illegal possession of homemade weapons and explosives (Part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Judge Oleksandr Ohienko sentenced him to three years in prison, releasing him on probation for 1 year.

Despite the fact that the court established:

Weapons were manufactured and stored for one purpose only — defend the village from the Russian invasion.
The weapons were not used against civilians, was not the instrument of the crime, but on the contrary - an instrument of resistance.
There was no harm, threat, or even suspicion of its use for a crime.
Moreover, it is a homemade muzzle-loading weapon, technically less dangerous than legal hunting, which is sold freely.

— Vitaliy Kukol's actions are qualified as a crime. And this is a warning signal.

Bar Association OK Legal, co-founders of Pravotvorets, took on the defense of Vitaliy. An appeal will be filed in the near future. The lawyers insist:
🔻 Kukol made weapons under conditions of de facto occupation, to defend his community;
🔻 The court partially recognized these circumstances, but interpreted the duration of martial law in a contradictory manner;
🔻 criminal prosecution in such cases is undermining confidence in the national resistance.

Kukol's case should be considered in a broader context. Law No. 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal handling of weapons) does not take into account the conditions in which many Ukrainians in 2022 were forced to act without orders, without access to legal weapons. Vitaliy was no exception - he was a systemic part of the public resistance to the aggressor.

❗ The existence of a criminal penalty for possession of homemade weapons in wartime is a disgrace to the law enforcement and judicial system, not justice.

Decriminalization is the need of the hour

The response to such cases should be bill No. 11073, which provides for: the abolition of criminal liability for possession or manufacture of weapons without criminal intent; the transfer of such cases to the sphere of administrative law; the preservation of criminal liability only for actions with criminal intent.

However, the document has been blocked in the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement for over a year. Despite public support, there is no political will to admit that self-defense in wartime is not a crime.

We demand:

overturning Kukol's sentence;
decriminalization of peaceful possession and production of weapons without criminal intent;
public audit of such cases.

A serviceman is under criminal prosecution for actions during a combat mission.

February 27, 2022 – the first days of a full-scale invasion. The military is carrying out a mission in the Odessa region. Their car is being pursued: another car is making dangerous maneuvers, blocking traffic, and ignoring stop signals.

On the same day, sabotage and reconnaissance groups (DRG) attack military personnel in Odessa. In particular, there is information about an armed attack in which the head of the Southern Military District, Colonel Stanislav Yarmola, and two of his assistants were wounded.

Military man Serhiy Skotar tries to signal a car to stop, showing the identification marks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The driver of the pursuers:
🔸 Blinds him with high beam.
🔸 He presses the gas sharply and tries to run over.
🔸 Serhiy barely avoids the blow and fires warning shots into the air.

The car does not stop, but blocks the officers in their car. The military decides to stop the vehicle by firing shots at the wheels. The car disappears in an unknown direction. After 15-30 minutes it becomes known: the driver died from blood loss.

It is still unknown whose shot killed the driver. The investigation did not even consider the DRG version. Serhiy's weapon was confiscated only a year and a half later, when he returned from combat operations. The driver was intoxicated. There was a passenger in the car, whom the police did not question.

Instead of a full and impartial investigation, investigators of the Main Police Department of Odessa region are preparing a charge against Serhiy under Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (intentional murder).

This case is another dangerous precedent. A similar story was in the case of border guard Kolmogorov, when in September 2014, when Russian troops were conducting an offensive in the Donetsk region, he was ordered to open fire when intercepting a suspicious car. Only thanks to public attention was it possible to achieve justice for Sergei Kolmogorov.

Why is a soldier who acted in a combat mission now forced to prove his innocence?

The scandalous case of MP Mykola Tyshchenko, accused of beating and unlawfully detaining war veteran Dmytro Pavlov, has been transferred for consideration to Babushkinsky District Court of Dnipro.

The case of the beating of a veteran became high-profile in the summer of 2024. June 20 a group of individuals, acting on the instructions of Mykola Tyshchenko, used physical force and special means against Dmytro Mazokha, former special forces soldier “Kraken”. Tyshchenko and his men inflicted bodily harm on the victim and unlawfully detained him for a certain period of time.

Dmytro Mazokha is a fighter who defended Ukraine from the first days of the full-scale invasion. Returning from abroad, he joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, experienced heavy fighting for Kharkiv, including two direct hits on the Kharkiv Regional State Administration building, and also participated in the legendary counteroffensive. At the time of the attack, he was walking through the city with his baby when he became a victim of physical aggression.

This case has already become a landmark, not because of the fairness of the judicial system, but because systematic delay of the processFor six months, the case was repeatedly disrupted:

Postponement of meetings due to the request of Tyshchenko's lawyers.
Appeals to “feeling unwell” the suspect himself, which caused him and his lawyer to leave the hearing.
Self-exclusion of lawyers at key moments of the hearings.

Judge Oleksiy Sokolov of the Pechersk District Court has repeatedly emphasized the suspect's manipulations, but the process continues to drag on.

Transfer of the case to the Babushkino District Court gives a chance to fair trial without abuses and disruptions. This is a matter that concerns not only a specific case, but also principles the rule of law and equality of all before the lawWhile Ukrainian military personnel are risking their lives for our freedom, it is unacceptable to allow people's deputies to abuse their power and avoid punishment for their arbitrariness.

Law maker calls on all those who care about justice to follow the progress of this case. Public control is what can stop manipulation and achieve a fair decision.

We invite media representatives, activists, and all interested parties to the court hearing. This case is not just about an attack on one soldier. It is about protecting the dignity of all who defend Ukraine, about the rule of law and our shared responsibility to prevent impunity. Impunity breeds a culture of permissiveness where criminals feel safe.

Follow us on our social media for updates.

The case of the arms manufacturer and the military, as a result of which the Ministry of Internal Affairs prevents snipers from destroying enemies.

In the conditions of a shortage of ammunition, the initiative in reloading is taken by the Ukrainians who care. Another victim of Art. 263 of the Criminal Code Oleksandr Minkov "Odesa". After being wounded, Oleksandr started volunteering for the needs of sniper units. However, the law enforcement officers in pursuit of indicators stood in the way once again — the Zaporizhia police and the prosecutor's office are trying to "sew" a criminal article on an active serviceman.

Oleksandr is charged with part 1 of Art. 263 of the Criminal Code, under which he faces up to 7 years of imprisonment. In the notification of suspicion, the law enforcement officers indicated that during the search, they found 6 grams of gunpowder and 3 cartridges in the soldier's possession.

Oleksandr Minkov, call sign "Odesa", has been engaged in volunteering since 2015, then served in the 110th brigade of military personnel, was demobilized due to an injury and continued volunteering. But after treatment, he again joined the defense of Ukraine in a different structure.

"In Ukraine, all snipers come to the point that for high-precision work you need to collect your own cartridge, which you get used to and with which you work stably. When I was written off, a common problem with our snipers on the line appeared - the lack of a target high-precision cartridge. It is expensive in weapon shops, and usually not available at all. Available hunting or sports cartridges are not quite suitable for our tasks. Accordingly, I decided to investigate this question of collecting a high-precision bullet with the characteristics required for a military sniper. In the warehouses of the RAO (Missile and Artillery Weapons Service), cartridges are present in a homeopathic quantity, especially this applies to TRO brigades. For half a year, I was able to effectively cooperate with active shooters on the production of the necessary cartridges and bullets." says the soldier.

At his production, Oleksandr organized a workshop on reloading. The military comes to him, for which he prepares components so that they can assemble cartridges for the specifics of their rifle complex.

“The 99% of my activity revolved around a large-caliber bullet in Magnum caliber (338 lapua) and there were plans to improve production to larger calibers. Distances are growing, so are the distance requirements. In order to protect the sniper, he needs to be as far away from the target as possible. We are already quietly closing 1,200-1,300 meters." - says Oleksandr Minkov.

According to the defender, in order to effectively destroy the enemy, Ukraine needs to establish its own production of cartridges, projectiles, and protective equipment. Allied aid is not permanent, and during the 10 years of the war, no one cared about the deployment of workshops, workshops or enterprises for the production of weapons.

"I didn't hide my activities and didn't really advertise them. Maybe I ordered specific parts for balls, for example, a ball tip, which gives a higher coefficient and, most importantly, stabilization. Accordingly, the Zaporizhia police did follow me. They drew for themselves such castles in the air, some kind of weapons workshop where they create attachments for leopard tanks or something similar." Minkov comments.

The police conducted a series of searches and seized licensed and fired weapons, which is in the registers.

"I use weapons at work, because I don't use state weapons. Zaporizhzhia police decided to take everything, including ammunition, from an active serviceman who must go on a mission. They are chasing after some pistols, cartridges. It seems that they are detached from reality. I am positive about the decriminalization of the production and storage of weapons, otherwise we will simply die and be destroyed. Questions about Art. 263 and its subsections are not based on any real law. They are preventing me from doing my job. I was not allowed to say goodbye to my child properly when I was leaving."

In response to a petition to the president on the elimination of obstacles in the production of weapons and armaments, the Ministry of Internal Affairs replied that neither permits nor licenses are required for the production of weapons and ammunition for military purposes.

However, despite this, police investigators continue to hinder volunteers and producers, bringing them to justice and continuing the post-Soviet tradition.

In the conditions of war, Ukrainians must have something to protect themselves, and our soldiers must be provided with ammunition. Bill #zp11073 regarding the decriminalization of weapons storage and production proposes to leave administrative responsibility (fine + confiscation) instead of criminal (imprisonment). The draft law is "hanging" in the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada without movement, and law enforcement officers continue to make indicators on volunteers, military personnel, manufacturers and veterans.

On July 20, 2016, a Belarusian and a Russian journalist were killed in the center of Kyiv. On July 12, 2016, a Belarusian and a Russian journalist were killed in the center of Kyiv. Pavel Sheremet. He was blown up in his own car. At that time, he worked in Ukraine in the publication "Ukrainian Pravda".

On December 12, 2019, during a joint briefing with the participation of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov, and Prosecutor General Ruslan Ryaboshapka, it was announced that "the alleged organizers and perpetrators" of this high-profile murder have been found.

The culprits were a musician, a sergeant of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war Andrii Antonenko (pseudo Riffmaster), pediatric heart surgeon, volunteer Yulia Kuzmenko and a military doctor Yana Dugar. They are accused, without evidence, of intentional murder (Article 115 of the Criminal Code) and illegal handling of weapons, ammunition or explosives (Article 263 of the Criminal Code).

The main evidence of the investigation is the portrait and psychological examination of KNDISE specialists, which was carried out according to scientifically unsubstantiated and unregistered methods. Because of this, the Ministry of Justice brought the experts to justice, and Serhiy Zuzak, a former member of the group of prosecutors in this case, recognized the expertise as "doubtful and insufficient evidence to send the case to court."

Andriy Antonenko was behind bars for 505 days, now under house arrest. Julia Kuzmenko – was behind bars for 244 days, later under night house arrest, Yana Dugar - under bail.

Yulia Kuzmenko spent 8 months behind bars and a year under 24-hour house arrest due to persecution in the "Sheremet case". After the preventive measure was changed to night house arrest, we talked with Yulia - see u video.

January 24, 2024 Shevchenkivskiy District Court of the city of Kyiv stopped the proceedings in the case on the indictment of Andrii Antonenko, Yulia Kuzmenko, and Yana Dugar in connection with Yana's military service.

The case is against veterans of the "Azov" regiment Serhiy Tamarin, Yuriy Kaplyu and Oleksandr Demydov.

On March 12, 2020, veterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war disrupted the event of the then adviser to the Secretary of the National Security Council Serhiy Sivoho under the name "National Platform of Reconciliation and Unity" and expelled him from the "Parkovy" KEC. When leaving the hall, during the incident Sivoho lost his balance and ended up on the floor. Veterans of the "Azov" regiment were accused of this Serhiy Tamarin, Yuriy Kaplyu and Oleksandr Demydov.

They are suspected of hooliganism under part 4 of Art. 296 of the Criminal Code (Actions provided for by parts one, two or three of this article, if they are committed with the use of firearms or cold weapons or other objects specially adapted or prepared in advance for inflicting bodily harm). Azov veterans face up to 5 years in prison.

On March 13, preventive measures were chosen for the detainees: Volkova - 24-hour house arrest, Tamarin and Kapla - personal commitment.

The Pechersk District Court of Kyiv postponed consideration of the merits of the case until January 21.

In addition, the war veterans also sent a notification to the Security Service of Ukraine about the commission of treason by Sivokha, as he initiated the collaborative action. According to the activists, any attempts to "establish a dialogue" with representatives of the occupation administrations and persons who contribute to the illegal occupation of the territory of Ukraine are treason.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE PERSECUTION:

03/12/2020: recognition

In the case file, there is an identification protocol, according to which the photo of one of the persons involved in the case - Serhiy Tamarin, is against the wall of the district department, and next to it are portraits of Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake

03/13/20: selection of preventive measure.

Serhiy Tamarin and Yury Kapli were given preventive measure in the form of a personal commitment, and Oleksandr Demidov - house arrest for one month.

12.06.2020: preparatory court session

At the meeting, the lawyers filed a motion to close the case and return the indictment to the prosecutor. The court refused.

07/29/2020: second court session

At the meeting, the lawyer announced the recusal of the judge. On the same 29.07.2020, another judge, without summoning the prosecution, held a meeting in which he refused to challenge the judge.

09/29/2020: announcement of the indictment

The prosecutor announced the indictment, the lawyer announced the opening speech of the defense. The accused pleaded not guilty. The procedure for examining the evidence was determined. First, written evidence (protocols, reports) should be studied.

04-05.11.2020: fourth court session

Court sessions did not take place due to the illness of Oleksandr Demydov and Serhiy Tamarin

A meeting is scheduled for November 20, 2020

The defender of Donetsk airport "Bars" became another victim of the arbitrariness of law enforcement officers and Art. 263 of the Criminal Code (illegal handling of weapons). He was sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment already a year after his death at the front.

Since 2014, Valery Krasnyan was a fighter of "Aidar" and the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps. He became a "cyborg", from which a wax figure was cast for a museum exhibition in Kyiv.

Stormtrooper, scout. Knight of the Order of Danylo Halytskyi. People's Hero of Ukraine.

The "Bars" case concerns his social activities in 2016 in his native village of Hlyboka, Chernivtsi region. It was then that Krasnian was charged with the crimes of hooliganism and possession of a weapon, because three shell casings were found, but not the weapon itself. The investigation was on the spot for a long time. Considering the urgent need for the protection of the state, "Bars" asked to volunteer for the war from under house arrest - he fought in the UDA of Dmytro Yarosh, and then in the 107th separate brigade of ground defense.

The proceedings dragged on for several years. Despite the death of "Bars" on November 23, 2022 due to the detonation of an SUV with a mine in the Kharkiv region, on March 5, 2024, the Hertsaiv district court still found him guilty.

Read more about it at Ukrainian truth.

On May 22, 2024, the Chernivtsi Court of Appeal acquitted the convicted and deceased defense attorney Valery Krasnyan. The court satisfied the complaints of Barsa's defense and the petition of the Head of the Chernivtsi Regional Prosecutor's Office — annulled the sentence that convicted the cyborg and closed the criminal proceedings due to the lack of a crime.

Gratitude and respect to the judges Kyfluk Volodymyr Fedorovych, members of the Marchak collegium Vitaly Yaroslavovych, Stankovska Halyna Adolfivna, who showed a fair position and made a worthy decision regarding the Ukrainian soldier.

For almost one and a half years since the death of Valery Krasnyan, it was possible not only to protect his honest name. Bars chose for all of us the right to detain a person who commits illegal acts. Such a court decision regarding the right of citizens to detain criminals has already entered into force since the announcement.

The 11th year of the Russian-Ukrainian war: state bodies use data from Russian registers, and law enforcement officers do not stop trying to get even with the cyborg - the defender of the Donetsk airport.

In the Zhytomyr District Administrative Court, the consideration of the case of the Ukrainian (not by passport, but by deeds) soldier Leonid Chemodanov has begun. Judge Oksana Popova is faced with a choice between the rule of law and the rule of law for issuing a residence permit.

On April 22, the Zhytomyr District Administrative Court ordered the State Migration Service to issue a residence permit to Leonid. This is not the end of the struggle for the rights of defenders of Ukraine, because the State Migration Service of Ukraine filed an appeal against the court's decision. Using information from Russian resources, the DMS wants to fundamentally deprive the person who has protected our state since 2014 of his rights.

They are trying to deprive the defender of Ukraine with the call sign "Green" of his temporary residence permit. At the request of the National Police, guided by information from Russian resources, the State Migration Service decides to cancel the volunteer's document.

"Green" comes from the Pskov region of the Russian Federation. It has been more than 15 years since he moved to Ukraine and renounces his Russian citizenship. Active participant of the Revolution of Dignity. In 2014, he received a categorical refusal from the Zhytomyr Military Commissariat to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and joined the ranks of the 5th separate battalion of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps "Right Sector". In the hottest spots on the front, he shows his loyalty to Ukraine, in particular during the defense of Donetsk resorts.

"I hate Putin's regime. I don't want this fool to come here. Ukraine and Russia are not just two different countries, but two different planets. And I consider Ukraine simply my Motherland. When hostilities began in the east, I decided to go to defend my Motherland. For me, returning to the Russian Federation is a threat to both freedom and life. In Russia, "Right Sector" is a terrorist organization. I will be arrested, imprisoned and killed in prison. This is a police state. Nothing has changed in it — from Stalin's to Putin's," — told Leonid.

In 2020, "Zielony" undergoes an inspection by the Security Service of Ukraine, on the basis of which he receives a temporary residence permit as Chemodanov Leonid Vasyliovych. The law of Ukraine specifies that foreigners and stateless persons who were involved in the defense of Ukraine are considered to be in Ukraine legally. Their right is guaranteed by Article 20. 4 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons".

However, the Ukrainian volunteer stood at the throat of the law enforcement agencies of both Ukraine and the aggressor country. After the release of the film "Volunteers of God's Chota", the face of "Green" is becoming more and more popular and once again reminds the Russian regime of the existence of Leonid. In 2021, the Migration Police Department GUNP in Zhytomyr region, referring to information from Russian registers, concludes that Leonid Chemodanov is another person wanted by Russia.

A few months before the full-scale invasion, the Zhytomyr Regional Prosecutor's Office is trying to extradite a volunteer at the request of Russia within the framework of International Police Cooperation. Thanks to public publicity, the prosecutor's office still accepts a resolution on the release of "Green" and the refusal of extradition due to the fact that he participated in the defense of Ukraine. After all, according to the criteria described in international law, Leonid, as a member of a voluntary armed formation, belonged to the number of combatants.

The National Police of Ukraine believes "their colleagues" from the Russian Federation about Chemodanov's alleged crime on the territory of the Russian Federation. Then the State Migration Service refers to this, canceling the volunteer's permit.

Despite pressure from state authorities and attempts to cancel documents based on information from Russian sources, court decisions should be based on Ukrainian legislation, which regulates the right to protection and support of our defenders, and not embody the interests of the Russian Federation through the instructions of law enforcement agencies.

Today, the enemy has accumulated numerous resources and is trying to advance as far as possible. The popular resistance, which defeated the occupier two years ago, is defenseless against the threat of imprisonment for possession of weapons. Or for the production of ammunition, which is what dedicated volunteers do to support the army in conditions of lack of weapons.

After two years of full-scale invasion, the issue of the exercise of the right to self-defense still remains unresolved. And citizens may face criminal prosecution for peaceful possession of self-defense weapons.

According to society's request, the VRU has already submitted a draft law (No. 11073 dated 11.03.2024) on ensuring the unity of norms in the exercise of the right to self-defense and decriminalization of weapons production.

Draft law regarding ensuring the unity of norms in the exercise of the right to self-defense and decriminalization of weapons production was presented to press conference "Self-defense is not a crime." People's deputies Oleksandra Ustinova and Andriy Sharaskin, human rights defenders Mykola Orehovskyi and Vitaly Kolomiets, representatives of the arms manufacturer Yaroslav and Ihor Garik took part in the event.

Exercising the right to self-defense today can lead to imprisonment for up to 7 years. Instead of imprisonment for owning a gun or assembling an FPV drone at home for the Armed Forces without a license, the initiators of the draft law propose establishing administrative liability. Therefore, gun owners will have to pay a fine from 50 to 150 of the tax-free minimum income of citizens (960 to 2280 hryvnias), and manufacturers - from 17 thousand hryvnias to 34 thousand hryvnias, with confiscation of the objects of the offense and income from activity.

"The draft law will create conditions for the independence of our state in the production of ammunition and will not allow punishing the military. Today, military personnel are the first to support the relevant changes. After achieving success in our defense, the first targets for police indicators will be the military, that is, people with access to weapons. A person can, without malicious intent, forget to put some ammunition out of the car and he will be detained, criminal proceedings will be issued for 3 to 7 years. Article 263-1 of the Criminal Code was introduced during Yanukovych's time. More than 5,000 such criminal proceedings are huge costs for the state, resources for investigations, the prosecutor's office, investigative actions of the police or SBU, and the workload of judges. Instead, it would be more effective to use these resources to document Russia's war crimes." — shares the head of the Glory UA charity fund and the initiator petitions regarding the removal of obstacles to the production of ammunition for the Armed Forces Mykola Orekhovskyi.

Investigations into the possession of weapons and their unlicensed production do not provide a law enforcement function, since they are always carried out formally, without establishing a criminal intent to produce or handle weapons. In addition, they are duplicated in the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses (Articles 164 and 190). Their exclusion from the Criminal Code will not lead to impunity for handling weapons (for this, the Code provides for other articles - Articles 201, 262, 410 and others).

The draft law on amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code of Ukraine on ensuring the unity of norms in the exercise of the right to self-defense and decriminalization of weapons production has already been sent to the Committee on Law Enforcement.

For more than half a year, the draft law #zp11073 has been "hanging" under consideration of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada. Despite the public outcry, constant persecution of the military, volunteers, volunteers, and arms manufacturers, there is a lack of political will to support the military by decriminalizing the production and storage of weapons.

Oleksandr Chekmaz "Hedgehog" has been at war since 2014. Knight of the Order "For Courage" III degree, former commander of the anti-tank platoon of the 25th separate motorized infantry battalion "Kyivska Rus". On the eve of a full-scale invasion, he trained fighters in his training center, who became the basis newly created of the first in Ukraine DFTG Brovarska MTG No. 1 — more than 600 volunteers under his coordination defended brewery direction.

Combat commander Oleksandr Chekmaz (Izhak) is charged with part 5 of Art. 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — misappropriation of someone else's property by abusing an official's official position in particularly large amounts. We are talking about body armor that Chekmaz received from Polish volunteers and apparently wanted to use for personal gain. 300 bulletproof vests, 98 are mentioned later in the case, were handed over by the Poles without passports and quality certificates, which is why he could not register them in May 2022.

The defender of Oleksandr Chekmaz, lawyer Vitaliy Kolomiets, once again emphasizes the groundlessness of such a serious accusation. After all, "appropriation" is the turning of property to one's own advantage, usually secretly.

"These body armor were known both in the brigade command and every soldier of the battalion who wanted to receive such a body armor, realizing that there were no certification documents for it. - the lawyer comments, - The second aspect is turning to one's own advantage. All the time we asked the investigator, what good are you investigating? Is there even a single fact of sale or receipt of them for personal use by Oleksandr Chekmaz?”

There are no facts of sale or conversion of protective equipment to one's own benefit. Even when the brigade refused to accept these bulletproof vests for storage after Chekmaz was dismissed from the post of commander, he did not abandon them. According to his agreement, the warehouse allocated a place for their storage for some time in case there are still fighters willing to receive such body armor. Not a single bulletproof vest was lost, lost or disintegrated in the rain.

The essence of the entire accusation is that Oleksandr Chekmaz thanked the Polish volunteers from the military unit. Therefore, investigators believe that this property belongs to a military unit, but it was not registered.

In fact, there is a clear procedure for accepting property for registration according to instruction 440. In short, to register body armor (and it is not just underwear or a uniform) you need to have:

— a bill of lading indicating the name, quantity and cost (goods and transport if the items were moved by transport);

— quality certificate;

— a passport for each body armor;

— packing list.

Polish volunteers did not provide any of these documents. Accordingly, the accounting department would not be able to register the property without these accompanying documents.

In the midst of the fight against corruption, law enforcement agencies are trying to achieve "indicators" and demonstrate their effectiveness. For almost a year now, the criminal case against the combat commander has been "pulled by the ears" instead of engaging in real investigations into abuses in the field of arms procurement, rear support, scandalous UAH 17 eggs and dubious tender offers.

The fabricated case is a mockery and humiliation of a war veteran who devoted 10 years of his life to the defense of Ukraine. It remains only to guess and assume why the founder of the first Voluntary formation of the territorial community became the object of persecution by law enforcement agencies.

A native of Donetsk. Veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war, volunteer.

In the summer of 2014, with the beginning of the Russian occupation, she was forced to leave Donetsk.

On the Internet, she met her future husband - Anatoly Kotelents, a volunteer. In 2015, she went to the front herself. She fought in the volunteer units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces "Right Sector" and UDA (Ukrainian Volunteer Army) - 2015-2017. Her husband fought in the same units (2014-2017), since 2018 he is an officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (with the rank of lieutenant). .

Raises two children - a son aged 11 and a daughter aged 1.

Mother - Natalia Vorontsova - a well-known Ukrainian volunteer.
On February 27, 2020, criminal proceedings No. 12020000000000174 were initiated, in which Victoria Kotelenets appears.
On January 19, 2021, Viktoria Kotelenets was detained by the National Police of Ukraine at the premises of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, where she was receiving a certificate of a participant in hostilities. The investigation incriminated Viktoria part 2 of Art. 260 of the Criminal Code (Creation of armed formations not provided for by law or participation in their activities) and Part 1 of Art. 438 of the Criminal Code (Cruel treatment of prisoners of war or the civilian population, deportation of the civilian population for forced labor, looting of national values in the occupied territory, use of means of warfare prohibited by international law, other violations of the laws and customs of war stipulated by international treaties, consent to the obligation the binding nature of which is granted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, as well as issuing an order to perform such actions). This article was added to the suspicion only on January 18, 2021. The suspicion was based on the "expertise" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which allegedly established the similarity of Victoria with the woman who participated in the convoy of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Donetsk on August 24, 2014.

Viktoria was taken to the Pechersk district court in Kyiv, where judge Svitlana Volkova chose a preventive measure for her in the form of detention.

At the same time, the defense (attorneys Vitaly Tsokur, Vitaly Kolomiets) prepared a motion to change the preventive measure.
On January 28, 2021, the Kyiv Court of Appeal postponed the hearing of the appeal to February 3 due to the fact that the case materials did not reach the court in time.
On February 3, 2021, the Kyiv Court of Appeal partially granted the request of Victoria's defense and ordered a preventive measure in the form of 24-hour house arrest.