A judge from the Mykolaiv region was fired for drinking on the job

The High Council of Justice has decided to dismiss Oksana Zvyagina, a judge of the Bashtanka District Court in Mykolaiv Oblast. The grounds for her dismissal were appearing at work while intoxicated and failing to attend court hearings.

This is stated in the High Council of Justice’s ruling. 

The acting chief judge filed a complaint with the High Council of Justice. According to him, on October 2, 2025, the judge was found in her office showing signs of intoxication. The next day, October 3, she did not show up for work and did not provide any explanation. When she was asked to review the reports regarding these incidents, she refused to sign them or provide an explanation.

The judge’s assistant and secretary reported that she had begun drinking alcohol that very morning. When the secretary refused to go to the store to buy alcohol, the judge purchased a bottle of cognac herself. This was captured on the store’s security cameras. 

Around 2:00–3:00 p.m., Zvyagina fell asleep at her desk, and attempts to wake her were unsuccessful. At the end of the workday, a court security officer found the judge in her office in a helpless state. Surveillance cameras at the Bashtanka District Court recorded him carrying the unconscious woman down the hallway around 4:00 p.m. that same day, with several other people walking alongside him.

Zvyagina denied any wrongdoing. According to her, she has a spinal condition that can cause her to lose consciousness. She also cited stress, a heavy workload, and family circumstances. The judge insisted that the evidence had been collected in violation of procedure and that her ownership of the empty bottles had not been proven. At first, she denied that the person in the store’s video was her, but later admitted to purchasing the cognac, adding that this did not mean she had consumed it.

In her 2025 financial disclosure statement, filed on March 3, 2026, Oksana Zvyagina, a judge of the Bashtanka District Court in Mykolaiv Oblast, reported an annual salary of 956,365 hryvnias and ownership of a CHERY vehicle. She received 24,000 hryvnias as payments for internally displaced persons, including for the accommodation of IDPs. The judge also declared assets totaling 100,000 hryvnias.

Юлія Калабайда