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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The Pryluky City District Court suspended proceedings in the criminal case against Yaroslav Popenko, who is accused of systematically selling drugs. The reason was his military service and performance of combat tasks.
This was reported by a Suspilne correspondent who attended the hearing on 28 August.
The decision was made by Pryluky City District Court judge Anatoliy Kovalenko. Defense attorney Ihor Fesyk’s motion to suspend proceedings due to Popenko’s mobilization had been under consideration for about 4 months.
During that time the court tried to determine exactly where the defendant was serving and whether he could participate in hearings via videoconference.
From June to August the court contacted the command of the military unit several times. Replies stated that “soldier Popenko can take part in the court hearing using videoconference.”
At the same time, the responsible person whose contact details were provided to the court repeatedly reported that it was not possible to arrange a videoconference. The reason given was that Popenko was carrying out a combat mission.
The last time the court contacted a representative of the military unit was on 27 August, the day before the hearing.
“On 27 August, in order to obtain information about Popenko’s ability to participate in the court hearing by videoconference, the court for the third time contacted the contact person indicated in the military unit’s letter, who reported that at this time soldier Yaroslav Mykolayovych Popenko is carrying out a combat mission, and therefore ensuring his participation in the court hearing on 28 August and at subsequent hearings by videoconference does not seem possible,” Anatoliy Kovalenko said.
Attorney Ihor Fesyk supported his motion and stated that information about his client’s involvement in combat operations is sufficient grounds to suspend the proceedings.
“The main answer here is that soldier Popenko is participating in combat operations, which shows that it is practically impossible even to hold this hearing by videoconference. I support the filed motion, because at present this information provides sufficient grounds to suspend the proceedings in the case,” the defense lawyer said.
Prosecutor Anatoliy Sukhonos also did not object to suspending the proceedings. According to him, it is impossible to hold a trial without the defendant’s participation, and attempts to establish contact with Popenko were unsuccessful.
“Since it is impossible to conduct the trial without the defendant, I also took measures to establish communication with Popenko, but we were unable to do so. I believe it is necessary to suspend the consideration of this criminal proceeding due to defendant Popenko’s service in the Armed Forces,” the prosecutor said.
In addition to suspending the proceedings, the court ordered Popenko to promptly notify the court if the circumstances that led to the suspension cease. The same obligation was imposed on the commander of the military unit. He must also inform the court of Popenko’s release or transfer to another military unit.
What is known about Yaroslav Popenko’s case
Yaroslav Popenko was detained on 16 July on suspicion of systematically selling drugs. On 18 July the Pryluky City District Court placed him in pretrial detention for 2 months with the option of posting bail of 242 thousand 240 hryvnias. The bail was later posted.
On 7 August the Chernihiv Court of Appeal suspended Popenko from his position as deputy director of the Pryluky Youth Sports School.
In 19 September Popenko’s attorney asked the Pryluky City District Court to cancel the notification of suspicion. On 24 September the court denied that motion. The defense filed an appeal with the Chernihiv Court of Appeal.
On 15 October at the appellate court Popenko’s defenders attempted to challenge the notification of suspicion for drug distribution. The court denied that challenge.
Later Popenko tried to be reinstated at the youth sports school, but on 14 November the Pryluky court denied him.
On 15 January 2026 the judge Anatoliy Kovalenko issued an order for Popenko’s compulsory delivery to a court hearing. On 22 January he appeared at court after 2 months of treatment, but the hearing again did not take place due to the absence of his lawyer.
On 26 January Popenko returned to work. On 3 February the court again suspended him from his position and began considering the indictment on the merits.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Розгляд справи Ярослава Попенка, сина мера Прилук, якого обвинувачують у торгівлі наркотиками, суд призупинив у зв’язку з його службою в ЗСУ". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Rozsliduvach.
