In Cherkasy region, a pensioner was attacked over a tuner worth 336 UAH and 150 UAH: The Supreme Court put an end to the case
On December 13, 2021, the Cherkasy District Court of Cherkasy region delivered a verdict in criminal case 695/1382/20 regarding a robbery attack on an elderly woman in her home. After appeal and cassation reviews, the decision remained unchanged — on May 11, 2026, the Supreme Court finally confirmed the legality of the verdict, and it came into force.
Circumstances of the case
The incident occurred in the evening of December 22, 2019, in the village of Domantove, Zolotonosha district, Cherkasy region. Two men — Kyslyi V.V. and Kovalenko O.V. — had prearranged an attack on a 79-year-old local woman with the aim of seizing her property.
According to the plan, one of them was to enter the house and take the money, while the other was to watch the situation outside. In case of resistance from the victim, the attackers were to use force.
During the commission of the crime, one of the men entered the residence and brutally beat the woman, causing her severe bodily injuries, including a traumatic brain injury and fractures. After that, the perpetrators seized a television tuner worth 336.28 UAH and 150 UAH in cash. Later, the property damage caused was compensated.
The accused did not admit guilt.
One of them completely denied involvement in the incident and referred to allegedly illegal actions by law enforcement during the arrest. The second initially agreed only with possible theft and requested to requalify his actions to a lesser offense but also refused to admit participation in the attack.
Despite the denials, the court found the guilt of both proven by a combination of examined evidence. The decisive factors were the testimony of the victim herself, questioned taking into account her age and health condition, as well as the testimony of a witness. These were supported by the results of forensic examinations: blood belonging to the victim was found on the clothes and banknotes seized from one of the attackers. During investigative actions, one of the accused personally showed the place where he threw the stolen items and recreated the circumstances of the attack.
The decisive importance for the verdict was given to the testimony of the victim and witnesses, the results of investigative actions, conclusions of forensic medical, molecular genetic, and other examinations, as well as the totality of evidence collected during the pre-trial investigation. After examining all the materials of the criminal proceedings, the court concluded that the guilt of both accused in committing the robbery attack was proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Cherkasy District Court of Cherkasy region qualified the actions of both as robbery (Part 4, Article 187 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) — an attack with the purpose of seizing another's property, combined with causing severe bodily injuries, committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy and with breaking into a residence.
When imposing the sentence, the court took into account the severity of the crime, the personalities of the guilty, and the opinion of the victim.
The court sentenced:
- Kyslyi V.V., who directly committed the attack and had unexpunged convictions, to 12 years imprisonment with confiscation of property.
- Kovalenko O.V. – 8 years imprisonment with confiscation of property.
Appeal
The defense appealed the verdict in the appellate procedure and later in the Supreme Court, insisting on overturning the decision and procedural violations. The Cherkasy Court of Appeal left the verdict unchanged. The Supreme Court, having reviewed the case in cassation, also found no grounds for cancellation and left the decisions of the courts of first and appellate instances unchanged.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel t.me/sudua and to Google News SUD.UA, as well as to our VIBER and WhatsApp, Facebook page and Instagram to stay informed about the most important events.
