Drunk drivers — thousands, cars for the army — none in court rulings: what the Mykolaiv region registry revealed

At the start of the full-scale war, when Mykolaiv was preparing for defense, the head of the Mykolaiv OVA, Vitalii Kim publicly stated that cars from drunk drivers would be taken for the needs of the army. In March 2022 this statement sounded harsh and clear: the military needed vehicles, and anyone who gets behind the wheel drunk during wartime should pay not only with a fine.

At that time several Ukrainian media outlets relayed the words of Vitalii Kim: patrol officers would gain the right to seize cars from drunk drivers “for the needs of the army, irreversibly”. Korabelov.info also wrote about this in 2022 in the article “For the needs of the army, irreversibly!” — Kim intends to immediately confiscate cars from drunk drivers. A few days after those statements it was reported that in Mykolaiv three cars had been seized from drunk drivers in two days.

We checked what the court register — not the statement — shows.

According to open data from the Unified State Register of Court Decisions, from 24 February 2022 to 27 April 2026 there were 16,625 unique first-instance cases in the courts of Mykolaiv Oblast concerning driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or other intoxication.

By year the breakdown is as follows:

Most cases are in the Mykolaiv district together with the city itself, Mykolaiv: 8,429. Separately for the city of Mykolaiv — 5,469 cases.

By city districts:

So the problem is not isolated. These are thousands of cases during the full-scale war.

But the main question is different: were vehicles from such drivers really being confiscated en masse for the Armed Forces of Ukraine?

A review of court decisions showed: no.

Among more than 16.6 thousand first-instance cases we found 18 unique cases where the court ordered the confiscation of a vehicle. But the wording in those rulings is different: the car or moped is confiscated into the ownership of the state / for the benefit of the state, not “for the AFU” or “for the needs of the army”.

Among the 18 confiscated vehicles were 7 VAZ cars of various models, as well as a BMW 530, Kia Magentis, Daewoo Lanos, Toyota Landcruiser and several mopeds: SPARK, Delta, Yamaha, Honda DIO-34, FORTE CANOE and Iks Drive.

One example is case No.488/891/23 in the Korabelnyi District Court of Mykolaiv. The court ordered the confiscation of a Daewoo Lanos from the private property of the offender. But again — not for a military unit, not for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but as confiscation under the law.

Another illustrative example is case No.482/1310/24, which involves a Toyota Landcruiser. The ruling provided for the confiscation of the vehicle, but here too it refers to the state, not to transfer to a specific unit.

Separately, the register contains rulings where the court directly mentions martial law, requisition and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. But there the logic is the opposite: the court explains that decisions on compulsory alienation of property for defense needs are made not by the court in an administrative offense case, but by the military command following the established procedure.

So the political promise and judicial practice diverged.

In practice the courts applied the usual mechanism of Article 130 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses (КУпАП): a fine, deprivation of the right to drive, and in more serious repeat cases — confiscation of the vehicle if it belongs to the offender. But court rulings do not confirm the mass transfer of such cars specifically to the Ukrainian army.

Here is a list of confirmed judicial confiscations of vehicles in drunk driving cases in Mykolaiv region:

In these rulings the confiscation is for the benefit of the state / into state ownership. The direct transfer of these cars to the Armed Forces of Ukraine is not indicated in the rulings.

Against this background, the example of Latvia is illustrative.

In Latvia, after changes to the legislation, cars confiscated from drunk drivers are indeed systematically transferred to Ukraine. Korabelov.info wrote about this practice in the article “Latvia again transfers cars confiscated from drunk drivers for the needs of the Ukrainian army”. We also earlier reported that Latvia had prepared to transfer another 21 vehicle confiscated from drunk drivers to Ukraine, among them even a Lincoln Navigator: “‘Drank — say goodbye to your car’: Latvia gives Ukraine 21 cars seized from drunk drivers.

According to Latvian and Ukrainian media, in 2024 more than 600 such cars were transferred to Ukraine with a total value of about €2.25 million. In 2026 Latvia was preparing a new batch — another 21 car.

There the scheme works not as a loud statement but as a state procedure: the car is confiscated, becomes state property, after which the government decides on its transfer to Ukraine.

In Mykolaiv region, however, the court register gives a different picture: thousands of drunk-driving cases, tens of thousands of pages of court rulings, but only 18 confirmed vehicle confiscations and no found court decision where a car was directly handed over to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

This does not mean that cars were not seized in the early days of the war at all. Some of those actions could have been carried out not through courts under Article 130 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses (КУпАП), but by the military command, by acts of compulsory alienation, or by decisions of the local military administration.

But if we speak specifically about the open court register, there is no confirmation of a mass “drunk behind the wheel — car to the Armed Forces” mechanism there.

The conclusion is simple: the problem of drunk driving in Mykolaiv region during the war is large-scale. The promise to take cars for the army was loud. But judicial practice shows a much more modest result: confiscations do occur, but they are isolated and recorded in favor of the state, not as direct aid to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.