Netishyn mayor accused of embezzling 20 million on drones to return to office
18 December 2025 00:26
On December 17, the Netishyn City Court ruled not to extend the term of Oleksandr Suprunyuk’s suspension from the position of mayor. As a result, the official will return to his duties next week. This was reported by the defense lawyers of the mayor of Netishyn, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
According to them, Oleksandr Supruniuk will officially start working on December 23, 2025.
What the court decided
The court denied the prosecution’s request for further removal of the mayor from office. Thus, the restriction, which had been in place for over a year, was lifted.
The lawyers emphasize that suspension is a procedural measure of restraint, not a form of punishment, and its application is possible only if there are appropriate grounds.
According to the defense, the trial lasted:
- 9 months of court hearings;
- 12 months of actual removal of the mayor from his duties.
What is the mayor of Netishyn charged with?
According to lawyer Ilona Kaminska, the criminal proceedings are centered on the purchase of 1000 FPV drones for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“They are accused of purchasing 1000 high-quality drones, which were immediately handed over to the military. The drones have been used at the front. No unit has returned them because of their quality or technical characteristics,” Kaminska said.
Details of the criminal case
In early 2024, the Netishyn City Council held a public procurement of quadcopters for the needs of the Armed Forces. The winner of the tender was a private company from Kyiv region. The total value of the contracts amounted to UAH 16.4 million.
According to the investigation:
- the director of the supplier company allegedly misappropriated some of the funds;
- the drones were equipped with inferior navigation equipment;
- the mayor, having signed the acceptance certificates, did not properly check the technical characteristics of the goods.
In this regard, Oleksandr Supruniuk was served a notice of suspicion:
- under Part 2 of Art. 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (official negligence);
- later – another suspicion under Part 2 of Art. 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which concerns another episode of procurement in the amount of UAH 1.2 million.
Defense position: key violations
Defense lawyer Andriy Mazalov states that the trial was accompanied by serious procedural problems. In particular, according to him:
- “The first ruling on the mayor’s suspension was made by an unlawful court, which has already been confirmed by another court decision.
- All subsequent decisions to extend the suspension were based on this initial, illegal ruling.
- According to the defense, the prosecutor’s motions were actually duplicates of each other without any new justifications.
- The court decisions did not respond to the defense’s arguments.
According to the lawyer, the prosecution did not prove
- the need for further suspension;
- the procedural possibility of applying such a measure;
- specific risks that would justify the removal of the mayor from office.
Precautionary measures
Since December 2024, the mayor has been under nightly house arrest. Subsequently, the measure of restraint was changed to personal recognizance.
On December 16, 2024, he was removed from office.
A court decision of December 17, 2025, lifted the suspension without suspending the criminal proceedings on the merits.
Although Oleksandr Supruniuk is back in the mayor’s office, the trial on the merits of the case itself is still ongoing. The final point on the issue of guilt or innocence of the official should be put by the court verdict.
