The “Killers” of the Crimean “Puppet Governor” Will Be Tried Separately

The hearing on the case against Volodymyr Bodnar, accused of plotting an assassination attempt on the head of Crimea, Sergii Aksyonov, has been scheduled for March 31, according to the press service of the Southern District Military Court. Bodnar is the third member of the “terrorist group,” which also included the elderly pro-Ukrainian activist Volodymyr Ananyev and Melitopol resident Oksana Shevchenko.

Notably, the trials of the other two defendants began back in February. The delay in considering the third case may be due to the need to adjust the prosecution’s position based on the circumstances emerging during the trials of Ananyev and Shevchenko.

Additionally, it is striking that the court proceedings are taking place in Russia rather than in the occupied territory. This contradicts the Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons and raises concerns about the objectivity and impartiality of the Russian judges involved, given Ananyev’s pro-Ukrainian stance, the long-term residence of the other defendants in Ukraine, and the overall context of the armed conflict stemming from Russian aggression against Ukraine.

According to the prosecution, a group was allegedly formed in February 2022 to carry out a terrorist attack in Crimea. “Its members included Volodymyr Bodnar and Oksana Shevchenko, who were tasked with monitoring the travel routes of the head of Crimea to plan and execute the assassination. Later, Volodymyr Ananyev joined the group, storing components for making a bomb,” the prosecutor’s office clarified. Bodnar then allegedly transported a remote-controlled improvised explosive device from Zaporizhzhia Oblast to Crimea, hiding it in a garage rented by Shevchenko in Simferopol.

However, human rights defenders have pointed out that in the video of the suspects’ arrest, the handling of phones found behind a battery did not comply with search procedures for unidentified objects—an FSB officer is seen calmly unwrapping foil and retrieving the “evidence” with bare hands, without gloves. Additionally, doubts have been raised about the claim that one of the suspects (Bodnar) managed to smuggle five kilograms of hexogen through checkpoints when entering Crimea, as well as the lack of explanation about where he allegedly obtained the explosives in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

The original text of the article can be found in Russian on the website of Crimea Process, a member organization of Human Rights House Crimea.