A defendant in the case involving public lighting in the Odesa region has filed an appeal

Mykola Derevianko, a former member of the Odesa Regional Council, whom the High Anti-Corruption Court found guilty of abuse of office and forgery of official documents in a case involving more than 16.3 million hryvnias in damages incurred during the installation of street lighting, has filed an appeal against the verdict.

This is evidenced by a ruling of the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court dated July 21, 2026.

The court opened appellate proceedings based on appeals filed by Derevianko himself, another defendant in the case—Vladimir Gerasymchuk, director of Ukrmezhbud LLC—and his defense attorney.

The judge determined that the appeals were filed by the appropriate parties, within the time limit specified by law, and comply with the requirements of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. The court found no grounds to return the appeals or to refuse to open proceedings.

Copies of the ruling and the appeals have been sent to the parties to the proceedings. They have five days from the date of receipt of the documents to file written objections. The parties have also been invited to submit new evidence or file motions to request such evidence.

As a reminder, on June 12, 2026, the High Anti-Corruption Court found Mykola Derevianko guilty of abuse of office and official forgery, committed as part of an organized group. He was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison and barred for three years from holding positions involving organizational, managerial, administrative, or economic functions.

Volodymyr Herasymchuk, director of Ukrmezhbud LLC, was sentenced to four years in prison and barred from holding relevant positions for a period of two years and six months.

In addition, the court ordered the convicted individuals to jointly pay more than 16.3 million hryvnias to the Tsebrykivka Village Council in the Odesa region.

According to the investigation, between 2018 and 2020, the participants in the scheme artificially divided the procurement of street lighting work into separate contracts worth up to 1.5 million hryvnias to avoid open bidding. According to law enforcement officials, this allowed them to significantly inflate the cost of equipment and include false information in the certificates of completion.

Андрій Колісніченко