At "ATB" — with a grenade: how a trip to the supermarket in the Korabelnyi district ended in an explosion near a house

The defendant pleaded guilty and expressed remorse, but was given an actual prison sentence

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10 Jun 2026

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Korabelnyi District Court of Mykolaiv issued a verdict against a serviceman who, while intoxicated, brought a live grenade to an “ATB” store and later detonated it near a residential building on Metalurhiv Street. The incident occurred on the evening of October 2, 2025, and the verdict was handed down on January 28, 2026. This is stated in the verdict in case № 488/5212/25.

According to the case materials, the accused man was a native of Mykolaiv, served in the military under mobilization and held the rank of sailor. He was tried under Part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — illegal acquisition, carrying and storage of ammunition — and under Part 4 of Article 296 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — hooliganism with the use of an item prepared in advance to inflict bodily harm.

The court found that on one of the days between August 1, 2024 and August 10, 2024 the serviceman was on a 24-hour duty in the storage room of the military unit. While sorting equipment that had been delivered from the battlefields of the de-occupied territory, he found a live grenade in one of the body armor vests of the aggressor country.

Instead of handing the dangerous find over to his command, the man, the court found, took it for himself and transported it home. The grenade was kept there without the legally required permit for almost a year — until October 2, 2025.

On the evening of October 2, 2025, at approximately 22:00, the accused, while intoxicated, took the grenade with him and went to an “ATB” store. According to the court, inside the store he met two men, after which they drank alcoholic beverages together in the park near the supermarket.

Later the group moved toward Metalurhiv Street. By around 23:00 near residential building No. 81 a verbal conflict arose between the men. The court established that the accused acted with hooligan motives, demonstrating clear disrespect for society and creating a real threat to people during martial law.

The case materials state that near the residential building the accused activated the grenade and threw it in the direction of the building. the men, fearing for their lives and health, managed to fall to the ground before the explosion. As a result of the blast, the facade of the residential building was damaged, and property damage was caused to the victim — a woman.

In court the accused fully admitted his guilt. He explained that he found the grenade while on duty, kept it for himself, brought it home, and almost a year later took it with him to the “ATB-market”. According to him, after meeting the two men they drank alcohol together, and then during the conflict he wanted to scare them. The accused expressed remorse for what he had done.

The victim woman told the court that that evening she was at home after a workday and was resting with her husband.

“At that time an explosion occurred; frightened, I ran to my child who was sleeping. Then my husband and I peeked outside to see what had happened, since we thought it might be drones flying, and we saw that the facade of our building had been damaged. Then a neighbor came and informed us that the explosion had been caused by a live grenade. I called the police and waited for them. The accused did not compensate for the damage caused by the crime, but I have no property claims against him and asked the court to consider the criminal proceedings further without my participation.”

The court found the sailor‘s guilt proven. The actions of the accused were qualified as illegal acquisition, carrying and storage of ammunition without a permit, as well as hooliganism committed with particular audacity.

When determining the sentence, the court took into account that the offenses are classified as serious crimes. Mitigating circumstances were sincere remorse and active assistance in uncovering the criminal offenses. The court regarded as an aggravating circumstance that the crimes were committed while intoxicated.

Under Part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine the court sentenced him to 3 years of imprisonment. Under Part 4 of Article 296 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — also 3 years of imprisonment. Ultimately, by partially merging the sentences, the sailor received 3 years and 3 months of imprisonment.