The sand was "just for a minute," but the sentence was for a year: how a neighbors' quarrel in Korabelnyi turned into a criminal case

Korablev District Court of the city of Mykolaiv found pensioner Nina Oleksandrivna P. guilty of the negligent infliction of bodily injury of moderate severity on the victim Lyudmyla Dmytrivna Sh. The conflict arose over sand taken from a fire sand box on the territory of the boat parking “Zorka-2” in Mykolaiv.

This concerns case No. 488/5668/24. The verdict was delivered on April 21, 2026. The defendant was tried under Art. 128 of the Criminal Code of the Ukraine — negligent causing of serious or moderate bodily injury.

According to court materials, the events occurred on October 25, 2024 at about 12:30 near boxes No. 1 and No. 2 of the Association of Co-owners of the boat parking “Zorka-2” at Oranzhereyna St., 93V in Mykolaiv.

At Nina Oleksandrivna P.’s house that day a hired worker was working. He was to repair a stove, and for the construction work began taking sand from the fire sand box on the parking’s territory. It was this sand that sparked the conflict.

According to the defendant, she asked the boat parking management to allow the worker to take the sand and promised to return it. When the craftsman began scooping sand, the victim together with another woman started making remarks. Nina Oleksandrivna P. claimed in court that she only tried to calm the women and protect the worker so that he could do his job.

The defendant did not fully admit her guilt. She insisted that she did not intend to injure anyone, and that the victim allegedly stumbled, twisted her foot and began to cry out in pain. Nina Oleksandrivna P. also stated that she acted because the women allegedly moved toward her first in an aggressive manner.

But the victim Lyudmyla Dmytrivna Sh. gave a different version in court. According to her, she saw the defendant’s worker carrying sand out of the boxes that belonged to the association of co-owners of the boat parking and were intended for use in case of fire. The woman phoned the head of the pier to find out whether he had allowed the sand to be taken.

After that the victim approached Nina Oleksandrivna P., holding her phone, and began to clarify the situation. According to Lyudmyla Dmytrivna Sh., the defendant grabbed her with both hands by her clothing in the chest area and forcefully shoved her backwards.

From the shove the victim lost her balance. The phone flew out of her hand, she fell on her back to the ground, hit the back of her head and injured her right leg. After the fall she felt severe pain, screamed and, she says, lost consciousness.

An ambulance brought Lyudmyla Dmytrivna Sh. to the hospital. Medics performed an X-ray, applied a cast and referred her for outpatient treatment. The victim was in a cast for 8 weeks.

Forensic medical examination established that the victim had a fracture of the outer ankle bone of the right lower leg. This injury was classified as bodily injury of moderate severity because it caused a prolonged health disorder.

The court also questioned the worker who had been repairing the stove. He confirmed that that day he had taken sand from the fire sand box for construction work. According to him, a quarrel over the sand arose first, and only then he heard cries of pain and saw one of the women on the ground.

The head of the boat parking said he had seen the defendant together with the worker opening the fire sand box. He reprimanded them, but the defendant said she would return the sand. Later he received a phone call reporting that Nina Oleksandrivna P. had shoved Lyudmyla Dmytrivna Sh., after which an ambulance and the police were called.

The court took a critical view of the defendant’s explanations about alleged self-defense. The verdict states that the victim and the other woman did not perform actions that would threaten the life or health of Nina Oleksandrivna P.

The court also noted the advanced age of the victim. At the time of the incident Lyudmyla Dmytrivna Sh. was 75 years old. In the court’s opinion, given her life experience, the defendant should have understood that after a strong shove an elderly person might not be able to keep her balance, could fall and sustain an injury.

As a result, the court found Nina Oleksandrivna P. guilty under Art. 128 of the Criminal Code of the Ukraine. She was sentenced to 1 year of imprisonment.

However, the pensioner was not actually sent to prison. Under Art. 75 of the Criminal Code of the Ukraine the court exempted her from serving the sentence with probation and set a probationary period of 1 year. She must periodically report for registration to the probation authority and notify them of any change of residence, work or study.

The victim asked the court to recover from the defendant 8,295.97 UAH in material damages for medication expenses and 50,000 UAH in moral damages. The court did not award the material expenses, as it did not find sufficient evidence linking all the claimed expenses to the incident.

Instead, the court partially granted the moral damages claim. It ordered Nina Oleksandrivna P. to pay 30,000 UAH to Lyudmyla Dmytrivna Sh.

Previously we wrote:

• Family fight in Korablev: father and two sons beat three policemen and were not imprisoned
• In Mykolaiv region a man was fined 850 UAH for beating his partner in front of the children
• A fight on the avenue ended with a verdict: in Mykolaiv a man robbed a 16-year-old girl
• Beat, humiliated and tortured children: court issued a verdict against a pensioner from Mykolaiv region
• “He stood up for his sister” — and received 7 years: the court examined a deadly drama in Korablev district