Court in Ochakiv suspends Kopiika, head of the Kutsurub community, for war justification

Inna Kopiika, head of the Kutsurub community. Photo: DOBRE

The head of the Kutsurub united territorial community, suspected of justifying Russian war crimes, has been removed from office.

This decision was made by the Ochakivskyi District Court, law enforcement sources confirmed to NikVesti.

It should be noted that the official was detained in October 2024. She is suspected of justifying and denying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine (Article 436-2, paragraph 3).

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The case of Inna Kopiika

It is worth recalling that it is the Kutsurub community that is under attack by the Russian army almost every day. Most often, villages are shelled with FPV drones, artillery and Shahed 131/136 UAVs from the occupied Kinburn Peninsula.

Inna Kopiika was elected as the head of the community in the 2016 elections following the decentralisation reform. Before that, she had twice headed the Kutsurub village council.

It is also worth noting that Inna Kopiika is the ex-wife of Ihor Kopiika, a former MP from Mykolaiv, and member of the Opposition Bloc. In 2018, Nikcenter journalists wrote in an investigation that budget money in Kutsurub was being used to spend money «by the right» contractors.

The detention of Inna Kopiika became known on 15 October. Law enforcement officers released a recording of a conversation between the head of the Kutsurub community, Inna Kopiika, and her subordinates. In it, the woman rejoices at the possible Russian occupation and accuses Ukraine of shelling Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson.

On 18 October, the court imposed a pre-trial restraint in the form of detention with the possibility of bail on the detained head of the Kutsurub community, Inna Kopiika. She was later released on bail.

On 24 October, the Court of Appeal considered the appeal of the prosecutor of the Mykolaiv District Prosecutor's Office against the decision on the preventive measure for Inna Kopiika. However, following the review, the Court of Appeal upheld the investigating judge's ruling.