A court has remanded a suspect in the murder of a village head’s assistant in the Mykolaiv region in custody: he will be eligible for release upon payment of a bail of nearly ₴300,000

Village head Viktor Prokopchuk, suspected of murder. Photo: ‘NikVesti’

Viktor Prokopchuk, the village head of Pliushchivka, who is suspected of murdering his assistant, has had a preventive measure imposed on him. He has been remanded in custody with the possibility of bail set at over 290,000 hryvnias.

This decision was made today, 18 March, by the Bashtanka District Court, reports NikVesti.

As a reminder, on 17 March in the village of Pliushchivka, in the Bashtanka district, the village head’s assistant, Svitlana Vanzhula, was killed in the village council building. According to the police, the suspect is the village head, Viktor Prokopchuk. Law enforcement officers noted that he himself reported the crime to the 102 emergency line.

Today, the court, presided over by Vitalii Muruhov, considered the prosecution’s motion. Relatives of the suspect, Viktor Prokopchuk, were present in the courtroom.

Prosecutors in the case concerning the murder of the village head’s assistant. Photo: NikVesti

Judge Vitalii Muruhov. Photo: NikVesti

People came to support the village head, who is suspected of murder. Photo: NikVesti

The prosecution requested the suspect be remanded in custody for 60 days without the possibility of bail.

Witnesses being questioned in the case. Photo: NikVesti

Witnesses being questioned in the case. Photo: NikVesti

In the end, Judge Vitalii Muruhov granted the request in part. Viktor Prokopchuk was remanded in custody for 60 days with the possibility of bail set at 90 times the minimum subsistence level — over 290,000 hryvnias — and a number of conditions imposed on him.

It should be noted that the head of the Bashtanka community, Oleksandr Berehovyi, commented that there was no conflict between Viktor Prokopchuk and Svitlana Vanzhula whilst the village head was serving in the military.

Following the publication of this statement, Ihor Bloshko, an employee of the municipal enterprise Mykolaivvodokanal and head of the Bashtanka community, threatened journalists from Suspilne Mykolaiv. The man publicly defended the village head, claiming that the crime had allegedly been committed in a state of intense emotional distress. In a video statement, Bloshko claimed that the journalists had allegedly spread false information, and warned that during the trial, their «cameras might be smashed over their heads».