On the very edge of the Odessa region, in the Bessarabian town of Kiliya, a Ukrainian farmer had a misfortune - his personal agricultural machinery was illegally seized and handed over to complete strangers.
The story, which began in 2018, still remains open and demonstrates how in some areas of the country, local authorities and the prosecutor's office actually ignore the law and citizens' rights.
We are talking about farmer Oleg Kroitor, who has been trying in vain for over seven years to return his property, illegally seized by the Kiliya and Izmail law enforcement officers.
Seizure of equipment and scattered criminal cases
In August 2018, local law enforcement officers, at the "order" of competitors and, as it turned out later, for completely fabricated motives, opened criminal proceedings against a resident of Kiliya, a well-known businessman and public figure, Igor Lymansky, who at that time headed the regional branch of the State Enterprise "Center for Certification and Expertise of Seeds and Planting Material." Criminal proceedings No. 12018160310000450 were initiated by local law enforcement officers.
The third party in it was farmer Oleg Kroitor, who, using his own agricultural machinery, carried out agricultural work at a state-owned enterprise managed by Lymansky, under a contract.
The main goal of this criminal proceeding, according to eyewitnesses, was not to investigate any crime, but to stagnate the enterprise's work and illegally seize the farmer's equipment - his white and blue T-150 tractor with state license plate number 29512 VN and components.
Interestingly, the applicant in the case was the scandalously known Kyliysk businessman Mykhailo Romanenko, who was once fired by Lymansky from this state-owned enterprise and who harbored a serious grudge against him, which led to such sad consequences.
Let us remind you once again that, according to witnesses, Romanenko had claims and wanted to harm Lymansky and everyone who was related to this state-owned enterprise, and Kroitor was among them. Therefore, it is not surprising that, according to the results of the “investigation” by local law enforcement officers, the latter’s equipment ended up in the possession of the applicant…
Despite the fact that the criminal proceedings collapsed and were finally closed on January 2, 2020 (Romanenko withdrew his statement and stated that he had no claims against Lymansky or anyone else), Kroitor's equipment was never returned to its owner. For several years, local law enforcement officers and prosecutors ignored the court's decision to return the property, citing the "ambiguity" of the implementation of the closed case.
The problem was exacerbated by the systemic nature of the violations committed by security forces. Among them are the head of the Izmail District Prosecutor's Office Oleksandr Sara, his deputy Vityuk A.I., investigator Istomina V., police chief Mylovanov Yu., and police officers Holovchenko O. All of them, during the 7 years that the trials were ongoing, have advanced quite well in their careers and now hold high positions in the prosecutor's office and the police.
Court decisions are ignored
Since the criminal proceedings were "sewn with white threads" from the beginning, over time they finally fell apart. By the decisions of the Izmail City District Court No. 946/5201/24 dated 27.06.2024/24.10.2024/XNUMX and the repeated clarification dated XNUMX/XNUMX/XNUMX, the court once again obliged the farmer Oleg Kroitor to return the tractor, plow, disk harrows and components. However, all these decisions remain unenforced.
The farmer claims that the absurd situation was made possible by the "roof" of local and regional prosecutors, who have maintained influence over the district police for several years.
District law enforcement officers are blocking the implementation of the resolutions, and the new police chiefs, including Payuk O., together with the head of the investigation, Marytenko A., are only consolidating the situation by appointing the same individuals involved in the seizure of the equipment to key positions.
Even the intervention of the State Bureau of Investigation in the case of malicious non-compliance with court decision No. 62025150020000661 of 10.02.2025/XNUMX/XNUMX did not bring tangible results - the victim was not questioned, and the investigation is being conducted formally.
.
Consequences for the farmer and society
Oleg Kroitor has been deprived of the means of production for over seven years, which directly affects the quality of life of his family and the operation of the farm.
The farmer's case is not unique. His story demonstrates systemic problems in the work of the prosecutor's office and the police of the Odessa region: ignoring court decisions, creating artificial criminal cases, and actually encouraging offenders who work in law enforcement agencies.
Therefore, the farmer filed a statement with the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko, demanding:
1. Take personal control of criminal proceedings No. 6201815000000021 and ensure the appearance of all witnesses.
2. Ensure the implementation of court orders to return agricultural equipment.
3. Conduct an investigation into the actions of the Kiliya and Izmail prosecutors and police regarding the facts of non-enforcement of court decisions.
The media also became interested in the situation.
But it is clear to both the media and the public that without decisive action by the Prosecutor General's Office, the restoration of law and order in the Izmail district is impossible.
