The High Council of Justice unanimously dismissed Andriy Makukh, a judge of the Solomyanskyi District Court of Kyiv, who is a defendant in the Maidan cases and a criminal case for bribery. This decision put an end to his long history of attempts to avoid responsibility.
Makuha became famous after 2014, when he made decisions against participants in the Revolution of Dignity. In the same year, he and judge Olena Demidovskaya were caught taking a bribe. Despite this, the Supreme Court of Justice was able to dismiss him only in 2016 - for breach of oath. But through the court, Makuha was reinstated in the system and returned to administering justice in 2020. The criminal case on bribery, initiated ten years ago, still has no verdict.
Even the reconsideration of the dismissal issue was delayed. In 2023, Makuha was mobilized into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which automatically suspended the consideration in the Supreme Court. However, his service in the army turned out to be not an argument for his conscientiousness, but rather additional evidence of his unsuitability for the positions he held.
The characterization from the command was a real shock: the judge was described as a serviceman who does not adhere to the statutes, demonstrates a lack of initiative, does not follow orders, gets lost in difficult situations and provokes conflicts. The low level of physical training and unsatisfactory possession of personal weapons were also noted. The command directly indicated that Makuha does not correspond to the position he holds.
Separately, there have been repeated cases of appearing in the ranks in a state of alcoholic intoxication. One of the most high-profile episodes is the inspection last year, when a judge was found drunk with a blood alcohol content of 2.01 ppm, which exceeds the permissible norm by ten times. The protocol on this offense has been lying in the Pechersk court for a long time without being reviewed by judge Konstantinova.
After Makukha was transferred to Kyiv, the military unit confirmed that he could participate in the HJC meetings online, and the consideration of his disciplinary case was resumed. The conclusion of the command and the materials of the proceedings became decisive: the High Council of Justice concluded that Makukha was unable to perform the duties of a judge.
So, after years of manipulations, renewals, and delays, one of the Maidan judges finally lost his mantle.
