Woman found insane may be fined for drawing Russian flag in Odesa center

The woman who painted the Russian flag on a pedestal in the center of Odesa may be brought to administrative responsibility, despite the fact that in another case she was found insane due to mental illness for trying to hang the Russian flag and publicly supporting Russia's actions.

This was reported by Intent.

On May 16, 2025, a passerby reported to the police that unknown persons had drawn a Russian flag on a pedestal in the middle of European Square, and one of the memorial photos was contaminated. The police drew up a report for disorderly conduct. It turned out that the picture was drawn by a woman who tried to hang a Russian flag there last year and publicly supported the actions of the Russian Federation. On October 8, 2024, she climbed on the same pedestal with the Russian flag to fix it on it, but passers-by noticed her and prevented her.

"Akhmat is strong, Russia is powerful," she said in a video filmed by eyewitnesses.

Law enforcement officers opened criminal proceedings and subsequently notified her of suspicion under Part 1 of Article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (justification of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine).

It turned out that the woman had repeatedly come to the attention of the police. She was brought to administrative responsibility for disorderly conduct and drinking alcohol in a public place.

And on July 24, 2024, the woman was sentenced to one year in prison with a probationary period of 1 year for theft.

However, during the investigation, law enforcement officers received a certificate from a psychiatric hospital stating that the suspect had been treated there in 2023. They decided to send her for a medical examination, which confirmed her mental disorders and that she was not aware of her actions.

On February 24, 2025, the prosecutor filed a motion with the court to apply compulsory medical measures against the accused. At that time, it was denied due to a number of violations, but he appealed the decision to the court of appeal.

And on July 23, 2025, the Primorsky District Court granted the prosecutor's request for compulsory medical measures - hospitalization in a psychiatric hospital with regular supervision. The woman was declared insane. The ruling will come into force only 30 days after it is announced. So after the hearing, she left the courtroom on her own.

On August 8, the Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa was supposed to hold a hearing to consider an administrative report for disorderly conduct. However, the offender once again failed to appear in court. At the last hearing, the judge ordered the woman to be brought to court forcibly for today's hearing. The police officers of the second department of the Operational Unit No. 1 were supposed to do this. But she was not brought and the reasons were not reported to the court.

As the journalist was told in court, the materials do not contain any certificates about the condition of the offender, and the police did not provide such documents. Therefore, the woman may be brought to administrative responsibility for drawing the Russian flag on the pedestal.

The judge will issue a second order to bring the offender to the hearing. This will be done again by the police. It should be noted that by law, persons with mental disorders that prevent them from realizing and controlling their actions are exempt from administrative and criminal liability. However, because the police did not submit such certificates to the court, the woman may face a fine.

"Intent asked Oleksandr Lebetskyi, deputy head of the communication department of the Odesa regional police, for a comment to find out why she was not taken to court and a certificate of insanity was not sent, but he has not yet provided any response.

Юлія Химерик