Murder at the Pliushchivka village council: the victim had warned the police a week earlier about a weapon in the headman’s office

On 17 March, Svitlana Vanzhula was murdered at the Pliushchivka Village Council. Photo: Suspilne Mykolaiv

A week before her murder, the deceased village council worker in Pliushchivka, Bashtanka district, reported to the police that the village head had brought a gun to work, but they took no action. He kept the weapon itself in his own hiding place — inside a sofa.

This was reported to NikVesti by the victim’s son, Volodymyr Vanzhula.

According to him, the woman saw the village head, Viktor Prokopchuk, bring a shotgun into his office, after which she contacted the police. The police responded to the call but stated that they were already aware of Viktor Prokopchuk’s possession of a weapon without needing to be informed. However, the family does not know whether any checks or investigative actions were carried out afterwards.

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«He brought the gun. As my mum told me, my parents called the police, and they came. They said they knew he had a gun, but didn’t react at all. According to my mum, they knew everything,” said Volodymyr Vanzhula.

The son added that the woman had told her relatives on more than one occasion that she feared for her life.

It was only after the murder on 17 March, during a search of the mayor’s office, that law enforcement officers discovered that the weapon and ammunition had been stored in a specially fitted hiding place — inside the sofa. According to Volodymyr Vanzhula, there was a hiding place there where the rifle and ammunition were kept.

“It was in the office; as I understand it, he cut a hole in the sofa and hid this... He had a gun there, and a cartridge belt,» he added.

The victim’s family believes the murder was premeditated. Furthermore, her son noted that the tragedy could have been prevented had the police responded appropriately to a previous report regarding the presence of weapons.

Murder in Pliushchivka

The tragedy occurred on 17 March at the village council offices in the village of Pliushchivka, Bashtanka District, Mykolaiv Region. The investigation stated that on that day, a conflict arose between the village head, Viktor Prokopchuk, and his assistant, Svitlana Vanzhula, due to a long-standing hostile relationship. During the altercation, the man took a sawn-off shotgun and fired at least three shots at the woman. She died at the scene from her injuries.

The following day, 18 March, village head Viktor Prokopchuk was remanded in custody with the possibility of bail set at over 290,000 hryvnias. Bail was posted for him just one day later, on 19 March.

On 20 March, the prosecutor’s office announced that it intended to appeal the court’s decision regarding the preventive measure for the village head of Pliushchivka.

The mayor of Bashtanka, Oleksandr Berehovyi, had previously commented on the incident. He refuted the suggestion that the cause might have been an alleged ‘unauthorised usurpation of power’ in the village during the village head’s tenure. According to him, upon his return, Viktor Prokopchuk resumed his duties without hindrance, and the question of his dismissal was not raised.