Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
In Pryluky, blogger Oleksandr Lesyk was beaten; he criticized the city mayor Olha Popenko and covered the progress of the criminal case against her son, who is accused of drug trafficking.
Deputy of the Pryluky City Council Yevheniia Averianova reported on her Facebook page that Oleksandr Lesyk was hospitalized as a result of the beating.
Oleksandr Lesyk is known for consistently and sharply criticizing the local authorities and, in particular, the city mayor Olha Popenko. For more than a year, his content has focused on local politics: pointed criticism of the mayor, deputies, and municipal enterprises, among others.
It is also worth noting that since taking office, city mayor Olha Popenko has been in the orbit of Ukrainian parliamentarian Valeriy Dubili (Batkivshchyna) with a highly controversial reputation. A significant portion of the materials published by Oleksandr Lesyk were devoted to the connections between Olha Popenko and Valeriy Dubili.
Another scandal that drew the blogger’s attention was the criminal case against Olha Popenko’s son, Yaroslav Popenko, who is charged with drug trafficking.
The case was repeatedly attempted to be buried, but due to the public outcry, Yaroslav Popenko eventually ended up on trial. However, in August, on the day Oleksandr Lesyk was beaten, the Pryluky City-Hraiv district court halted proceedings in the case against Yaroslav Popenko because he is a member of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. 28
Although in court, Yaroslav Popenko’s lawyer stated that his client “is taking part in hostilities,” it is known that the soldier serves in the Lviv region, and he was mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine after a criminal case was opened against him for drug dealing at a children's sports school where he worked.
Whether the facts of exposing Olha Popenko’s son, the systematic criticism of her involvement in corruption, and Oleksandr Lesyk’s beating are connected – the investigation will establish. Currently the blogger is in the hospital in serious condition.
As stated by Yevheniia Averianova, who also actively covers corruption scandals in the mayor’s circle of Pryluky, she knows exactly who beat Oleksandr Lesyk.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Критикував мера Ольгу Попенко та її сина-наркоторговця Ярослава: у Прилуках жорстоко побили блогера Олександра Лесика". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: HAB Media.