A Verdict Without Punishment: A Mykolaiv Region Mayor Found Guilty of Beating His Deputy

The Arbuzynka District Court on November 9 handed down a guilty verdict against Valerii Onufriienko, mayor of Yuzhnoukrainsk, in the case involving the assault of his deputy, Mariia Drozdova. However, the official was released from the punishment imposed because the statute of limitations had expired.

The court classified the mayor’s actions under Part 1 of Article 125 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and set a fine of 850 hryvnias. The verdict, published on reyestr.court.gov.ua, states that more than two years had passed since the incident. The court granted the victim’s civil claim, ordering Onufriienko to pay 10,000 hryvnias in compensation for moral damages.

The events that were the subject of the court proceedings took place on the morning of March 3, 2022, at the executive committee of the Yuzhnoukrainsk City Council. The meeting was attended by:

• Mayor Valerii Onufriienko;
• his deputies;
• other officials.

The participants discussed how to provide residents with access to a shelter at Yuzhnoukrainsk Lyceum No. 4. It was during this discussion that an argument broke out between the mayor and Mariia Drozdova.

According to the prosecution, after the conflict in the meeting room, the deputy left the office and the mayor followed her. Approaching her, he struck her at least three times with both hands on the shoulder, neck, and head, then knocked her to the floor.

Employees who were in the office tried to pull the mayor away from his deputy and stopped him. A subsequent forensic medical examination confirmed the injuries inflicted on the victim.

The political confrontation surrounding the mayor began before the criminal case had concluded. On April 27, 2022, the Yuzhnoukrainsk City Council website published a draft decision to terminate his powers early. The document was initiated by Olena Petryna, chair of the commission on ethics and legality and a deputy from European Solidarity. In the explanatory note, she alleged that Onufriienko had repeatedly violated the law and assaulted Mariia Drozdova.

The local newspaper Kontakt reported another consequence of the incident: according to the paper, the mayor was stripped of the right to carry the weapon issued to him during martial law because of the case.

In the summer of 2022, Valerii Onufriienko was notified that he was suspected of assaulting his deputy. Around the same time, city council members deemed his performance unsatisfactory and terminated his powers as mayor early.

In April 2024, Onufriienko reinstated himself in office by his own order. This came after a ruling by the Fifth Administrative Court of Appeal, which closed the appeals in his case.

The confrontation with the council members did not end there. Council members periodically accused the mayor of:

• not knowing the Ukrainian language;
• pro-Russian views, including wearing a watch associated with the Russian Federation special forces;
• obstructing the work of the city council.

The crisis in relations between the mayor and the council members led to the establishment of a military administration in Yuzhnoukrainsk.

Mariia Drozdova herself also repeatedly criticized the mayor, including accusing him of delaying the court proceedings. Before the verdict was handed down, Onufriienko’s lawyer alleged that the victim’s side was putting pressure on the court and asked for the judge to be recused.

During the trial, Valerii Onufriienko denied his guilt and presented a different version of events. He claimed that his deputy had approached him on her own with her hands raised, allegedly intending to scratch his face. According to him, he merely deflected her hands with defensive blocks, after which she fell to her knees. The mayor denied striking her.

Evidence examined by the court included an audio recording of the meeting and video footage from the city council’s surveillance cameras. The blows themselves are not visible in the video, but screams and crying can be heard on the recordings. They also show the victim leaving the office on her knees while other people help her get up.

The reason for the argument was important to the court’s legal assessment. The court found that the dispute concerned residents’ access to a shelter, not the distribution of humanitarian medicines, as stated in the original charge. The court found that Onufriienko had acted out of suddenly arising personal animosity.

The official was initially charged under Part 2 of Article 350 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—intentionally inflicting bodily harm on a public official in connection with the performance of official duties. However, the court found insufficient evidence of a link between the mayor’s actions and the victim’s specific official powers.

“The issue of city residents’ access to a shelter located on school premises does not concern healthcare, culture, physical education and sports, or social protection, but rather education and civil protection. At the same time, the allocation of functional duties among the mayor, the secretary of the Yuzhnoukrainsk City Council, and the deputy mayors responsible for the activities of the executive bodies, approved by the order of the Yuzhnoukrainsk Mayor dated September 14, 2021, No. 258-r, does not confirm that Mariia Drozdova, as a deputy mayor, had powers in the areas of education or civil protection. Accordingly, in these criminal proceedings, the prosecution has not proved that the motive for striking the victim was directly connected to her specific, legally defined official duties,” the verdict of the Arbuzynka District Court states.

Despite his release from punishment, the guilty verdict could affect Onufriienko’s continued tenure. Under paragraph 3 of part one of Article 79 of the Law of Ukraine “On Local Self-Government in Ukraine”, a mayor’s powers are terminated early if a guilty verdict against them comes into force. The text of the law is available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/280/97-вр/ed19990903#Text.

The verdict may currently be appealed to the Mykolaiv Court of Appeal within 30 days.

We previously reported:

• Four years to a verdict for assaulting a lawyer: how law enforcement officers are punished in Mykolaiv
• Life sentence upheld: Supreme Court gives no reprieve to deputy who detonated three grenades at a session
• Yuzhnoukrainsk mayor reinstates himself by issuing his own order
• Former Yuzhnoukrainsk mayor who assaulted his deputy during the distribution of humanitarian aid faces five years in prison
• Yuzhnoukrainsk mayor faces impeachment