He stood up for a child and was stabbed: attacker sentenced to 5 years in Mykolaiv Oblast

A man from the Pervomaiskyi district of Mykolaiv Oblast was sentenced to 5 years in prison for seriously stabbing a neighbor who tried to protect a child. Despite the men reconciling and compensation for the damage, the court imposed an actual prison sentence.

The circumstances of the case are set out in the court ruling published on reyestr.court.gov.ua: https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/141347879

The incident occurred on the evening of August 12, 2026. According to the defendant, he was arguing with his son about schoolwork. A neighbor heard the shouting. He had known the family for a long time and had effectively raised the man from childhood. He came to the house to calm the homeowner and stop the argument.

An argument broke out between the adults. When the neighbor tried to pull the man away from the child, the man took a kitchen knife from the refrigerator and stabbed the victim in the chest. The defendant said he wanted to scare the neighbor so he would no longer interfere in his relationship with his son.

The injured man fell. Seeing the blood, the attacker knelt beside him and tried to stop the bleeding. The child called an ambulance.

Doctors diagnosed the victim with a life-threatening stab wound to the left side of his chest. Blood had entered his lung, and he underwent surgery. For some time after the operation, he had to walk with a drainage tube.

During the trial, the defendant fully admitted his guilt and expressed remorse. The victim said he had not seen the knife at the moment of the blow and only felt pain after the attack. He also confirmed that the man helped him before the paramedics arrived, and later paid for his treatment and compensated him for moral damages. The victim stated that he had no claims against the defendant.

In determining the sentence, the court took the following circumstances into account:

• the victim intervened in the argument to protect a minor, and the crime took place in a house where a child lives;
• the defendant had not legally acknowledged paternity, despite living with the child and the child’s mother for more than 8 years;
• the man had previously been mobilized, but left his place of service without authorization and did not return to his military duties;
• the defendant had not taken part in combat operations.

The court considered the defendant’s full admission of guilt, remorse, and assistance in solving the crime to be mitigating circumstances. However, it found no grounds to waive an actual prison sentence.

The man was found guilty of intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm under Part 1 of Article 121 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. He will remain in custody until the verdict enters into force. His sentence will be calculated from the date of his arrest — August 13, 2026.

The convicted man will also have to pay UAH 57,089 and 74 kopecks in court expert examination costs. The verdict may be appealed within 30 days to the Mykolaiv Court of Appeal.

We previously reported:

• Beat his ex-wife and injured his daughter: serviceman in Mykolaiv Oblast fined UAH 850
• Stepson in Mykolaiv Oblast to stand trial for stabbing his stepfather in the chest
• Beat his partner to death with a baseball bat: man in Mykolaiv Oblast made up a story for the police emergency line
• Stabbing at a memorial gathering in Mykolaiv
• Man came to help at his ex-wife’s request — and was stabbed in the heart