Prosecutor General's resignation, Kiper's pension and staged murder: highlights of the week

Resignation of the Prosecutor General and the reform of the MSEC

On Tuesday, October 22, Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin announced that he was resigning from his post due to the facts of abuse in the system of prosecution bodies of Ukraine. The Prosecutor General said that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had held a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council regarding the immoral situation with fake disabilities of government officials.

Andriy Kostin. Photo: The Kyiv Independent

On the same day, President Zelenskyy approved by decree a list of decisions identified by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

It includes the digitalization of the processes of passing all stages of medical and social expert commissions, a thorough check of declarations of MSEC members, as well as unjustified decisions on disability of officials and their review, and an audit of relevant pension accruals.

There will also be legislative changes to urgently reform the system of medical and social expertise in Ukraine and to revise the system and mechanism for calculating pension payments to government officials.

The next day, Ekonomichna Pravda reported that the number of people with disabilities in the prosecutor's office could be three times higher than the national average, and among the management team, this figure reaches 38%. In 2023, UAH 288 million was spent on prosecutors' pensions.

Read also: Trukhanov's interrogation, ministers in Odesa, and a comet - important things from the week before

Kiper's pension

In the wake of the scandal with prosecutors, journalists found a court decision stating that the head of the Odesa Regional Administrative Court, Oleh Kiper, had obtained a pension for his long service as a former prosecutor.

Photo: Ukrinform

The Kyiv District Administrative Court ordered the Pension Fund of Ukraine to grant Kiper a pension starting February 6, 2023, taking into account his length of service, which now amounts to 25 years, 3 months and 3 days. Earlier, the Chernivtsi Pension Fund had refused to grant him a pension, arguing that his pensionable service was insufficient - 23 years, 3 months and 14 days.

Kiper 's pension will amount to 60% of his monthly salary, including all types of payments, from which a single social security contribution has been paid.

Shelling and fires

However, the war is not over and the Russians do not stop shelling Odesa region. On the night of October 19, Russians fired missiles at Odesa and hit the city's private sector, causing a fire.

Photo: State Emergency Service in Odesa region

The attack caused a three-story building and two nearby cars to catch fire. The fire was quickly extinguished by our firefighters. More than ten private houses were also damaged. No one was injured.

On October 20, a fire broke out as a result of an evening missile attack on Odesa 's port infrastructure, with no injuries or deaths. Also, due to the fall of rocket fragments in Odesa district, dry grass and an abandoned building caught fire, with no injuries. The fires were extinguished by rescuers.

After the missile attack, the Russians struck with drones, which were destroyed by air defense forces.

On the night of October 24, the occupiers attacked Odesa region with TU-22 strategic aircraft. The enemy fired two X-22 cruise missiles from Tu-22M3 aircraft over the Black Sea.

The Pivden' PC clarified that the Russian occupation forces fired a cruise missile, probably an X-22 or X-32, in the direction of Zmeinyi Island from the airspace over the Black Sea. At night, air defense forces shot down 9 enemy attack drones, six of which were destroyed over Odesa region. In the evening of October 23, Odesa region was attacked with an X-31P guided missile.

Instead, Ukrainian special forces in Russia killed Dmitry Golenkov, a pilot of the 52nd Heavy Bomber Regiment of the Russian Aerospace Forces, based at the Shaykovka airfield in the Kaluga region and armed with Tu-22M3 bombers.

Fictitious murder of the head of the TCC assistants

The police and the Security Service of Ukraine claimed to have prevented the contract killing of the head of a public organization in Odesa region by faking his death.

Law enforcement officers staged the murder of a 56-year-old resident of Odesa, a businessman and head of a public organization, took photos and videos as evidence of the order and gave them to the perpetrator to hand over to the customer. When the report was received, the latter was detained.

Earlier, social networks and media reported that Gennadiy Beibutyan, who headed the NGO "Law Enforcement Assistance Unit", was killed in Odesa region. This formation helped the CCC and JV with mobilization.

The SBU, in turn, noted that this order was a special operation of the Russian secret service, which wanted to carry out a demonstrative liquidation of an activist who publicly supported mobilization.

Prisoners and Pushkin: rallies in Odesa

On October 20, relatives, military personnel, and concerned citizens gathered in Odesa to remind of the fate of those still in captivity.

Today, dozens of people gathered in the city center on Deribasovskaya Street, including relatives, volunteers and concerned citizens. People held handmade posters with slogans on them: "In captivity, the living envy the dead", "Be the voice of those who were your shield", "AZOV is not at home" and "Bring back the heroes alive".

On the same day, another rally was held in defense of the Pushkin monument located on Primorsky Boulevard in Odesa. The participants of the rally read poetry at the monument, and one of them even brought flowers. There were seven of them. Later, the Italian newspaper published an appeal from opponents of renaming streets named after writers and other scientific and cultural figures of the communist and Russian empire period in Odesa and dismantling their monuments to UNESCO and the President of Ukraine.

Odesa activist wins court case against Ukraine

Oleh Mykhailyk, an Odesa-based civil society activist, has won a case against Ukraine in the European Court of Human Rights. The court found that Ukrainian law enforcement agencies had ineffectively investigated the case of an attempt on his life, which violated the European Convention on Human Rights.

The European Court ruled that the Ukrainian state failed to ensure an effective investigation and did not use all necessary means to protect the activist's life. In this regard, Ukraine must pay Oleh Mykhailyk compensation in the amount of 6 thousand euros.

Support for the peace plan and the mayor's award: an extraordinary session

On October 25, an extraordinary session of the Odesa City Council of the VIII convocation was held. The deputies supported the decision "On the Appeal of the Odesa City Council of the VIII convocation to the President of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, twin cities and partner cities to support the Victory Plan." Hennadii Trukhanov reads out the text of the appeal.

Photo: Intent/Natalia Dovbysh

Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov was awarded the National Guard's "For Loyalty to the Ukrainian People" decoration. The lieutenant colonel of the 3rd Brigade of the National Guard "Spartan" presented the mayor with the award "For Devotion to the Ukrainian People". The National Guard subsequently noted that this award is not an official award, nor is it a departmental or state award (medal). The initiative for such an award belongs exclusively to individuals from the brigade.