Jan. 9, 2026, 1:54 p.m.
Ukrainian courts have handed down 63 sentences for the use of pyrotechnics since the start of the full-scale war, with seven fireworks enthusiasts convicted in Odesa region.
This was reported by analysts of the Opendatabot platform, citing the court registry search engine Babusya.
For comparison, there are three such sentences in Mykolaiv region, and none in Kherson region. However, Odesa region is not alone in ranking third in Ukraine in terms of the number of verdicts - Kyiv region has the same number.
The most frequent fireworks are in the capital: almost every fourth verdict or 15 cases. Dnipropetrovs'k region ranks second with eight verdicts. The fewest such verdicts were handed down in the first year of the full-scale invasion - only five. At the time, it might have seemed that these were isolated cases. However, in a year, the number of court decisions increased 3.4 times. The courts handed down 16 judgments for launching fireworks during the war in the first half of 2025.
PHOTO: Opendatabot
Punishments for fireworks in wartime range from symbolic fines to real prison terms. For petty hooliganism, courts imposed fines of 51-119 hryvnias, and in criminal cases, the amount increased to 34 thousand hryvnias. In some cases, offenders were sent to community service - for example, in Kyiv, a man who set off fireworks while intoxicated received 50 hours of compulsory labor. In addition, setting off fireworks can also result in jail time. For example, in Rivne, the offender launched fireworks in the schoolyard and later threatened the police with a live grenade. In total, the court sentenced him to 4 years in prison, but replaced the actual term with 2 years of probation, as the defendant decided to join the Armed Forces.
In November 2025, police began an investigation into the launch of fireworks in the center of Odesa during an air raid alert. The incident, which occurred on November 15, at about 22:00 on Olhiyivska Street, was reported to law enforcement by eyewitnesses. Police officers were sent to the scene. The police are trying to identify the persons involved in the incident.
Кирило Бойко