Not just for 13 chocolates: the court explained the 7-year, 8-month sentence
The theft escalated into a robbery: why a Mykolaiv resident was sentenced to nearly eight years
Inhulskyi District Court of the city of Mykolaiv explained why a man who took 13 bars of chocolate from a store was sentenced to 7 years 8 months of imprisonment. The court emphasized that the wording widely circulated on social media about a verdict for “stealing chocolates” does not correspond to the legal qualification of the case. Official explanation the court published on 20 August 2026 after numerous publications and bloggers’ comments regarding the severity of the punishment.
The incident occurred on 20 April 2026 in the “Avrora” store on Troitska Street, 238-H in Mykolaiv. According to the case materials, the man took 13 chocolates totaling 1,476.65 UAH, hid them under his clothing and headed for the exit. A store employee noticed his actions via CCTV, chased after the man and demanded he return the goods. He realized he had been exposed, however he did not return the chocolates and began to flee. For that reason the secret theft of property, in the court’s conclusion, escalated into an open appropriation of property — robbery.
The court explained that theft under Art. 185 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is committed secretly, while robbery under Art. 186 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is committed openly. If a person is noticed during a theft but continues to retain the property or flees with it, such actions may be qualified as robbery. At the same time the value of the property for qualifying actions as robbery is not decisive. The court noted that if the chocolates had been stolen secretly, due to their low value the man’s actions might not have constituted a criminal offense at all.
By the verdict dated 4 August 2026 in case No. 489/5093/26 the man was found guilty under Part 4 of Art. 186 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — robbery committed under martial law. The sanction of this article provides for 7 to 10 years of imprisonment. The court also took into account that the accused had previously been prosecuted and had an unserved sentence — more than eight months of restriction of liberty. He did not admit guilt in committing the robbery, did not compensate the damage caused, and the court did not find any mitigating circumstances.
For the new crime the man was sentenced to 7 years 6 months of imprisonment. To this term the unserved sentence from the previous judgment was partially added — another two months. The final term amounted to 7 years 8 months of imprisonment. The court emphasized that the sentence was imposed within the sanction established by the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and is close to the minimum. The verdict can be appealed to the Mykolaiv Court of Appeal within 30 days from the date of its pronouncement.
