14 February 2026
(PHOTO COLLAGE: Intent)
Vitaliy Serafimov, the head of the board of the Odesa regional organization of the Union of Lawyers of Ukraine and the state examination commission of the Master's degree in public service at the Odesa National University "Odesa National Law Academy", has died.
This was announced by the Honorary President of the Law Academy Serhii Kivalov.
In 1966-1970, Vitaliy Serafimov served as the prosecutor of the Tatarbunary district of Odesa region, and in 1971-1976 he headed the prosecutor's office of the Prymorskyi district of Odesa. In 1983, he was appointed Odesa Transport Prosecutor, and later - South Ukrainian Transport Prosecutor. In 1998-2003, he held senior positions in the Prosecutor's Office of Odesa Region.
As head of the Transport Prosecutor's Office of the Southern Region, he personally supervised the case of the death of the captain of the Soviet Ukraine whaling flotilla off the coast of Antarctica.
Earlier, the first head of the Criminalistics Department at the Odesa National University "Odesa Law Academy", Valerii Tishchenko, died. Valeriy Tishchenko became the head of the department in 1998 and held the position for a quarter of a century. The lecturer also participated in the development of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and the Laws of Ukraine "On Forensic Examination" and "On the Bar and Practice of Law".
Earlier, the head of the Kilia District Court in Odesa Oblast died suddenly on January 24, at about 5 am in the Kilia Multidisciplinary Hospital. The 45-year-old judge sought help at the medical institution with complaints of feeling unwell, after which he lost consciousness. Despite the help provided, doctors were unable to save his life. Mykola Balan has been working in the Kiliya court since 2008. In 2015, he became the head of the institution, which he managed for five years. After that, Oleksandr Maslenikov was elected as the head of the court, but in 2023 Mykola Balan was re-elected again.
Кирило Бойко