Courts work miracles: the young man who cut two people in the Korabelnyi district avoided punishment

In Mykolaiv a multi-year court hearing concluded in the case of a bloody attack in the Korabelnyi district, which Korabelov.info wrote about back in 2016. At that time a 15-year-old Ruslan Saidalimov was detained after a 29-year-old Oleksiy Zhadik was inflicted with at least 25 stab wounds. Another conflict that night resulted in a different man receiving a knife wound.

More than 10 years after the events, the Inhulskyi District Court of Mykolaiv found Ruslan Saidalimov guilty of attempted intentional murder and sentenced him to 9 years’ imprisonment. However, the man was released from serving this sentence: the statutory limitation period provided by law had expired. This is stated in the court verdict dated 7 September 2026. The verdict in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions

A bloody night in Korabelnyi

The events took place on the night of 14 February 2016 in the Korabelnyi district of Mykolaiv.

As established by the court, the minor Ruslan Saidalimov was on the street with an acquaintance. Before that the young men had been drinking alcohol. Later they walked toward what was then Oktiabrskyi Avenue, now Bohoyavlenskyi Avenue.

Near building No. 338 they saw an unfamiliar man who was also intoxicated.

According to circumstances found by the court, Ruslan Saidalimov approached the man from behind, knocked him to the ground, and then produced a folding knife with a blade about 11 centimeters long.

The victim, Oleksiy Zhadik, received at least 25 stab wounds. The majority of the injuries were to the back; there were also wounds to the chest and the left buttock area.

Medics found, in particular, penetrating chest wounds, lung damage, and a bilateral pneumothorax. Experts classified at least three penetrating wounds as severe bodily injuries that were life-threatening at the time they were inflicted.

After the attack the man lost consciousness. He later regained consciousness and managed to get to the stairwell of acquaintances’ apartment building, where he was given help. The victim was hospitalized and operated on.

According to the court’s conclusions, it was precisely the timely medical care that caused the man to survive.

Already on 20 February 2016 Korabelov.info reported that the victim was found between the floors of the stairwell of building No. 338 in a pool of blood, and because of lung damage he had to undergo emergency surgery. At that time the police detained a 15-year-old local resident, against whom the court imposed house arrest.

The knife was used again that same night

The events of that night did not end there.

An earlier Korabelov.info publication noted that in a neighboring yard near building No. 340/2 another man, 26 years old, received a knife wound after making a remark to the teenagers. At the initial stage of the investigation the police only checked the detained teenager’s possible involvement in that episode.

However, materials from the later trial describe that after the attack on Oleksiy Zhadik the young men came to another building, where a conflict with another man occurred. During that altercation Ruslan Saidalimov also used the knife and inflicted a wound to the man’s buttock. Korabelov.info wrote about this in 2017, citing materials from the criminal proceedings.

Important: the current conviction under Part 2 of Article 15 and Part 1 of Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine concerns the attempted intentional murder of Oleksiy Zhadik. The second knife episode appears in the case files and earlier publications, but it is not the crime for which the Inhulskyi District Court in 2026 imposed 9 years’ imprisonment.

The knife was buried in the Balabanivskyi Forest

After the events that night the young men went to their homes.

The next day they met again and discussed what had happened. According to the case materials, they then decided to dispose of the knife.

Ruslan Saidalimov, together with acquaintances, went to the Balabanivskyi Forest, where the knife was buried in the ground.

Later law enforcement officers found the weapon. When items were presented for identification, Ruslan Saidalimov identified that knife as his.

Korabelov.info also reported about the knife buried in the Balabanivskyi Forest back in 2016, and in a piece dated 12 April 2017 this circumstance was already cited as part of the evidence in the case.

Witness: the victim was lying and screaming in pain

One of the minor witnesses who was with Ruslan Saidalimov that night gave testimony that significantly supported the prosecution’s version.

According to him, the accused approached the unfamiliar man, knocked him to the ground and began stabbing him. The victim lay on his side and screamed in pain. The witness counted more than 10 blows and, he said, tried to stop the attacker.

After that the young men left the victim and walked away.

The defendant did not admit guilt

During the new trial Ruslan Saidalimov did not admit guilt in the attempted murder.

At the same time he confirmed part of the events of that night: he spoke about drinking alcohol, having a folding knife, and conflicts with the men.

During an investigative reconstruction he said that he approached the man who was already lying on the ground, took out the knife and inflicted about 10 blows. He explained his behavior by alcohol intoxication and a surge of aggression.

The Inhulskyi District Court did not accept the defendant’s version of the absence of intent to kill. The court examined the testimony of the victim and witnesses, materials of investigative reconstructions, medical documentation, forensic conclusions and other evidence.

In the verdict the court explained why it did not accept the defendant’s denial of guilt.

“The court treats the defendant’s denial of his guilt critically, since such explanations contradict other evidence in the criminal proceedings, examined by the court as a whole, and, in the court’s opinion, are motivated by the defendant’s desire to avoid proper criminal responsibility.”

The court paid particular attention to the fact that the attack was sudden, the first blow was dealt from the back, the men had not previously known each other, and after numerous knife wounds the victim was not given help.

The court also took into account the number of blows, their location and the mechanism of infliction.

Taken together, these circumstances were recognized by the court as evidence of direct intent to deprive the victim of life.

A forensic psychiatric examination conducted in 2016 found that Ruslan Saidalimov did not suffer from a mental illness, could understand the significance of his actions and control them. The experts noted ordinary alcohol intoxication.

9 years had already been imposed — but the verdict was overturned

This was not the first guilty verdict in the case.

Back in 2017 Korabelov.info reported that a court of first instance found Ruslan Saidalimov guilty and sentenced him to 9 years’ imprisonment.

However, both parties appealed the verdict.

The prosecution pointed out that the verdict did not properly formulate the accusation: the purpose, motive and consequences of the defendant’s actions were not sufficiently specified.

The defense, for its part, argued that there was insufficient direct and reliable evidence that the knife wounds were inflicted by Ruslan Saidalimov specifically. The defendant’s mother also claimed alleged psychological pressure on her son at the Korabelnyi police station.

The appellate court quashed the verdict and sent the criminal proceedings for a new trial. The teenager was left under house arrest.

And it was after this that the repeated trial dragged on for years.

After 10 years the court again found him guilty

In September 2026 the Inhulskyi District Court of Mykolaiv again concluded that the guilt of Ruslan Saidalimov was proven.

His actions were qualified under Part 2 of Article 15 and Part 1 of Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — a completed attempt at intentional murder.

The punishment — 9 years’ imprisonment.

But the convicted person will not serve these 9 years.

The reason is not acquittal, not a finding of innocence, and not the absence of evidence.

The reason is the expiration of the statute of limitations.

Why for 25 stab wounds you may not end up in prison

At the time of the crime Ruslan Saidalimov was 15 years old.

For persons who commit a criminal offense before reaching 18 years of age, special limitation periods apply.

According to Article 106 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, for an especially serious crime committed by a minor the statute of limitations is 10 years.

The attack took place on 14 February 2016.

Therefore, by 14 February 2026 the 10 years provided by law had passed.

The court found that the defendant did not hide from the investigative authorities or the court, so the statute of limitations was not suspended.

When the court finally issued the new verdict in September 2026, the period had already expired.

As a result, the court simultaneously:

• found Ruslan Saidalimov guilty of an attempt to commit intentional murder;
• sentenced him to 9 years’ imprisonment;
• released him from serving this sentence due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

That is, legally the man was not acquitted. The court established his guilt and imposed a real term of imprisonment. But in practice he will not serve that term.

He will still have to pay

In addition to the criminal sentence, the court ordered the following recoveries from the convict:

• 4,865.54 hryvnias for the victim’s medical expenses;
• 3,480.56 hryvnias in material damages;
• 20,000 hryvnias as compensation for moral damages.

The total amount of these recoveries is 28,346.10 hryvnias.

Thus, the story that began on the bloody night of 14 February 2016 in the Korabelnyi district of Mykolaiv ended more than 10 years later: the court for the second time sentenced Ruslan Saidalimov to 9 years’ imprisonment for the attempted murder of a man who was inflicted with at least 25 stab wounds, but because the statute of limitations expired the convict will not serve this sentence.

Previously we wrote:

• Robbery in 2016, verdict in 2026: the court put a full stop in the story of attacks on Mykolaiv computer clubs
• An unsuccessful arson of Ukrposhta — go to courses: a strange verdict of the Korabelnyi court
• Family brawl in Korabelnyi: a father and two sons beat three policemen and did not go to jail
• Attack on a military enlistment center with a tractor: a soldier’s arm was broken, and the attacker avoided imprisonment
• Corruption at the military commissariat: a court in Mykolaiv closed the case of a medical board doctor due to the statute of limitations