The Mykolaiv Regional Police have denied that the village council employee killed in Pliushchivka had filed any complaints

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

The Mykolaiv Regional Police stated that Svitlana Vanzhula, a village council employee murdered in the village of Pliushchivka, had not reported to the police regarding threats or the presence of weapons at the workplace of the suspect, Viktor Prokopchuk.

This response to an information request from a journalist at NikVesti was provided by the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Mykolaiv region.

It should be noted that at the end of March, the victim’s relatives told NikVesti that a week before the murder, Svitlana Vanzhula had reported to the police that the village head had brought a shotgun to work, but the police took no action.

Response to NikVesti’s information request

According to the information and communication system «Information Portal of the National Police of Ukraine», no reports were received from Svitlana Vanzhula to the regional police units. The police state that no complaints, no reports of fears for her life, and no reports of the presence of a weapon in the office of the village head, Viktor Prokopchuk, were recorded from the woman.

»No reports were received from Svitlana Vanzhula regarding complaints or fears for her life, or regarding the presence of weapons in Viktor Prokopchuk’s office,» reads the response from Oleh Hidziuk, acting head of the Situation Department of the Organisational and Analytical Support and Operational Response Directorate of the Main Department of the National Police in the Mykolaiv region.

Murder in Pliushchivka

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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 Plyushchivka.

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.