High Council of Justice punishes judges for recusing themselves from the case of Pivdenoukrainsk mayor

The High Council of Justice has punished judges of the South Ukrainian City Court Olena Voloshchuk and Halyna Dalmatova for delaying the case of the mayor's conflict of interest. Due to numerous recusals, the deadline for consideration expired, so the proceedings were closed.

This was reported by Anti-Corruption Dimension.

In 2022, deputies removed Valeriy Onufrienko from office after he had actually removed himself from work at the beginning of a full-scale war. Subsequently, in 2024, he reinstated himself in office by issuing a corresponding order based on court decisions to lift the suspension.

In addition, criminal proceedings were opened against the mayor for obstructing the activities of the deputy and inflicting light bodily harm. This refers to the incident of beating his deputy Maria Drozdova.

The case considered by the HCJ was related to Onufrienko's conflict of interest. The prosecutor's office, on behalf of the city council and the executive committee, filed lawsuits demanding the return of 122,000 hryvnias paid to the mayor after his illegal dismissal by order signed by him.

Upon his return to office, the mayor suspended his legal counsel, Inga Nesterenko, from representing the city council in these proceedings. Thus, he was making decisions as an official in cases where he was personally a defendant. The court also found that the mayor had failed to notify the NACP of the conflict of interest.

Initially, the administrative case was considered by Judge Olena Voloshchuk. In October 2024, Onufrienko recused her, citing media reports about his alleged assistance in providing the judge with official housing. Judge Halyna Dalmatova granted the recusal.

After the case was transferred to Dalmatova, she also recused herself. Voloshchuk was supposed to consider her application, but she also refused to participate in the hearing due to her connection to the case. Subsequently, the case was transferred to judge Oleksandr Savin, who recused himself twice due to his longstanding friendly relations with the mayor.

In February 2025, Savin finally granted Voloshchuk 's recusal, a few days before the deadline for bringing the mayor to administrative responsibility. Because of this, the case was not considered on time.

Later, the proceedings were transferred to the Arbuzyn District Court. In September 2025, the court found Valeriy Onufrienko guilty of violating the conflict of interest requirements, but closed the case due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, so he was not punished.

The High Council of Justice concluded that the actions of judges Voloshchuk and Dalmatova led to an unreasonable delay in the proceedings. The HCJ believes that they did not ensure timely consideration of the case, so both judges were warned.

No disciplinary proceedings were initiated against judge Oleksandr Savin, as he had already been dismissed from his position at the time.

In August 2025, the police launched an investigation at the request of the deputy mayor of Pivdenoukrainsk. He accused the mayor of forging documents and illegally appointing an official.

Анна Бальчінос