Policewoman Olena Yushchenko, who fatally struck a child in Pryluky, did not appear in court

Policewoman Olena Yushchenko, who fatally struck a child in Pryluky, did not appear in court

As reported by the father of the killed child, Vitaliy Kupriyenko, the Chernihiv Court of Appeal postponed the consideration of the case regarding the selection of a preventive measure for police officer Olena Yushchenko, who fatally struck a six-year-old child at a pedestrian crossing, due to the defendant’s failure to appear in court.

The consideration of the complaint from the injured party regarding the selection of a preventive measure for Olena Yushchenko has been postponed to January 16 due to the accused’s failure to appear at the court hearing. It is reported that the police officer informed the court of a «sudden illness» before the start of the hearing but provided no evidence.

As a reminder, on December 10, 2025, at approximately 11:44 in the city of Pryluky, Chernihiv region, a patrol police service vehicle struck a 36-year-old woman and her 6-year-old daughter at a regulated pedestrian crossing. According to official data, the patrol police response team was en route to another road accident call in a service Mitsubishi Outlander with activated flashing beacons.

As a result of the collision, the child died at the scene, while her mother sustained injuries of varying severity and was hospitalized at Pryluky City Hospital.

According to the Chernihiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, police officer Olena Yushchenko was detained on the same day in connection with the incident. During the court hearing at the Desnyanskyi District Court of Chernihiv on December 11, 2025, Judge Bohdan Krapyvnyi applied a preventive measure of detention for 60 days with the possibility of posting bail in the amount of UAH 242,240.

After that, she posted the bail and was released from custody, although the prosecution representative, the head of the regional prosecutor’s office, Serhiy Deyneka, insisted on detention without the possibility of bail, citing the risk of influencing witnesses and colleagues.

Today, January 12, the Chernihiv Court of Appeal was scheduled to consider the appeal against the decision to release Olena Yushchenko on bail; however, she did not appear at the hearing, resulting in the next court session being postponed to January 16.

Meanwhile, it became known that materials from a case involving the accused police officer Yushchenko receiving a bribe of $400, which she allegedly extorted together with her partner from conscripts under the threat of being sent to the Territorial Recruitment Center, have been added to the case of the fatal accident. This was reported by «Antikor» in the article «Pryluky Police Engage in Racketeering Under Threat of Delivery to the Territorial Recruitment Center».

It is currently known that a disciplinary proceeding has been initiated against Olena Yushchenko regarding the bribery allegations. In total, there are four such proceedings against her. Whether these disciplinary proceedings will evolve into full-fledged criminal cases remains unknown.