The Trostyanets District Court has sentenced Vitaliy Kukol, who at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion was making his own weapons to defend his village in the Sumy region. The man was found partially guilty — he was convicted of possessing weapons and gunpowder after the de-occupation and acquitted of making weapons during the occupation of Trostyanets.
The court verdict is reported by Suspilne.Sumy.
UPD: The Sumy Region Prosecutorʼs Office clarified that the man received the sentence because he refused to surrender his weapons after the de-occupation of the Sumy region. They say that before this court, the man had been convicted 6 times, including for illegal possession of ammunition and drugs.
He made weapons at home, and during the search, law enforcement officers seized a rifle, two pistols, and 1.25 kilograms of gunpowder.
"[...] he does not want to voluntarily hand it over, under the pretext of the need for protection from the enemy," the prosecutorʼs office says.
The court sentenced Vitaliy to three years in prison, but released him from serving the sentence with a one-year probationary period.
During this time, the man will be required to fulfill the obligations stipulated in Article 76 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. In particular, Vitaliy will be required to periodically appear for registration with the authorized body for probation issues, report any changes in his place of residence, work, study, etc.
One of the evidence used in court was the story Suspilne.Sumy from November 2023, where Kukol told how he mined the road between Trostyanets and Kamyanka, which was occupied at the time, took people out of the occupation, and collaborated with the 93rd brigade "Kholodnyi Yar".
Prosecutor Dmytro Zayats noted during the court hearings that Kukol knew about the illegality of possessing weapons because he had previously been convicted, in particular under Article 263 "Illegal Handling of Weapons".
Back in June of last year, Kukol pleaded not guilty and said that after the war he wanted to donate the homemade weapons to a museum, but that he made them to protect the village and its villagers. He now plans to appeal.
"I expected that our court would become a court. Partially. The point is that I was unable to prove my innocence. Witnesses testified, not me, and the prosecutor twisted it against me. What is this? This is criminal bias, and I will prove it. If necessary, I will appeal to the International Court of Human Rights. It is the last resort, where I will appeal. I will definitely file an appeal. I will go through all the instances, I will devote my life to expelling this evil spirit from Trostyanets," the man says.
- Last June, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets responded to the incident and stated that Vitaliy Kukol was conscientiously fulfilling his duty as a citizen of Ukraine, but instead found himself in the dock. He cited Article 17 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which states: “Protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, ensuring its economic and information security are the most important functions of the state, the business of the entire Ukrainian people”. At the time, Lubinets stated that he had taken the case under personal control.
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