The Trostyanets District Court of Sumy Region issued a sentence to the resident of Kamyanka village Vitaliy Kukola, who during a Russian invasion in 2022 produced explosives on his own to protect his community. Although the court found him guilty of illegally manufacturing weapons, the man was released from a sentence of one year.
According to the Public Sumy, according to the investigation, in March 2022, Vitaliy Kukol independently made an explosive and laid it on the road between the occupied Trostyanets and Kamianka to stop the promotion of the Russian military. During that period, the region was actively stormed by the invaders.
In 2023, Vitaliy told reporters that he used ammunition from World War II and received from the 93rd Mechanized Brigade of Cold Yar. The man spent four days near the replaced plot, ready to blow it up in the event of enemy equipment.
In addition to the mines of the road, the doll also made a homemade single -buying rifle, equipped with gunpowder, nails and stones. He actively helped to remove people from the occupied territories and interacted with the Armed Forces.
Despite heroism, in June 2024 he opened a criminal case under Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - illegal manufacturing of weapons. During the trial, the cockroach did not admit guilty, insisting that he acted solely in the interests of defense.
On May 15, 2025, Judge Oleksandr Ogienko issued a sentence: three years of imprisonment, but taking into account the circumstances and public importance of the accused's actions dismissed him from serving his sentence with his annual test period.
Back in June 2024, the case was controlled by the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmitry Lubinets, who stated that the actions of Kukol were dictated by the duty to protect the state.
