The Kropyvnytskyi Court of Appeal upheld the Oleksandria City and District Court’s ruling to close the case regarding the attack on local journalist Viktor Holoborodko by Oleksandria City Council official Hennadiy Lotsman.
The Court of Appeal passed the verdict on 30 March 2026 after reviewing the motion by Viktor Holoborodko’s lawyers, Holoborodko reported to Pavlo Lisnychenko, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Kirovohrad oblast.
The journalist, who now serves in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said that his lawyers’ main achievement was agreeing on the official reason for closing the proceedings: the statute of limitations expiring, and not any extenuating circumstances.
“This, of course, is not exactly what I have been trying to achieve for all these years. However, now, at least, no one will be able to say that the court acquitted the attacker. This did not happen and that is a plus,” Holoborodko said.
The journalist added that he has not yet decided whether he will file a cassation appeal. He said that he is hardly prepared to spend another few years on this, given his service in the army. However, everything will depend on the phrasing in the appellate court’s final ruling, which he has not yet seen.
Previously
On 23 October 2019, Hennadiy Lotsman, a Kirovohrad Oblast Council member and head of the Department of Housing, Urban Planning and Architecture of the Oleksandria City Council, attacked local journalist, Texty. Oleksandria editor Viktor Holoborodko, pushed him, and tried to knock the camera out of his hands.
The journalist reported the incident to the police on the following day. The police began a pre-trial investigation under Part 1 Article 125 (inflincting minor bodily injuries) and Part 1 Article 171 (obstruction of legal reporting) of the Criminal Code.
The case was closed on 17 February 2020 due to the “lack of a corpus delicti in the act.” The journalist received a copy of the investigator’s decision as late as 28 April after filing a motion. Viktor Holoborodko contested the decision in the Oleksandria City Court of Kirovohrad Oblast, demanding the proceedings are resumed.
The police resumed the investigation on 15 June 2020, but closed again on 1 February 2021. The plaintiff appealed against the closure again, and the Oleksandria City Court cancelled the decision to close the proceedings on 24 August 2021.
The investigation was only completed in 2022, and on August 24, the law enforcers notified Hennadiy Lotsman of suspicion.
The indictment reached the Oleksandria City Court over six months later, and the presiding judge was chosen even later. During this period, evidence was examined, witnesses were interviewed, etc. However, no ruling was passed, which enabled the defendant to file a motion to close the case.
On 6 February 2026, the Oleksandria City Court of Kirovohrad oblast closed the case, granting a motion by Hennadiy Lotsman, who argued that the statute of limitations for prosecution had expired.
