Recently, a story broke out in the media that affected Ukrainian society and demonstrated how far attempts to protect one's interests can go. It is about the judge of the Court of Appeal of the Lviv region, Mykhailo Romanyuk, who is accused of raiding the building of a kindergarten in Lviv, political scientist Vitaliy Kulyk writes about this.
The judge and "squeezed" property
Mykhailo Romanyuk is known not only for his work in court, but also for the scandal related to the seizure of a kindergarten building on Kvitneva Street in Lviv. The building was "wrung out" with the participation of not only the judge himself, but also his relatives. Among them is the judge's father, who allegedly gave him 7.5 million hryvnias, which became the subject of a separate investigation. It turned out that the father had borrowed this money from a third party to give to his son, which became a reason for many doubts.
During the consideration of this case at the Higher Qualification Commission of Judges (HCJC), one of the members of the commission, Andriy Kozlov, openly expressed doubts about the veracity of the story about the gift. Due to his public outcry, Kozlov was quickly fired. Despite all these scandals and negative conclusions of the Public Integrity Council, in 2019, Romanyuk successfully re-certified at the VKKS and continued his activities.
Romanyuk not only has a scandalous reputation, but also considerable family influence. His father-in-law, Serhii Lesnoi, was the head of the Sykhiv district court of Lviv, and Romanyuk's wife worked as a secretary in the Yavoriv district court of the Lviv region. In addition, the judge's brother Victor is also a judge in the Halytsky District Court of Lviv. This provided Judge Romanyuk with strong support in judicial circles.
Against the background of these scandals, Judge Romanyuk decided to resort to media protection. For this, he hired pro-Russian blogger Mykhailo Chaplyga, who is known for his support of anti-Ukrainian narratives and actively promoted propaganda through Russian media channels.
Chaplyga, together with the Sheptun channel, which is connected to the Russian GRU, tried to protect Romanyuk from negativity by posting excuses on these platforms.
After that, threats against Romanyuk's critics began to appear on social networks. The author of the anonymous letter sent to the political scientist Vitaly Kulik claims that criticism of the judge is an interference in the administration of justice and even threatens with possible legal consequences. The letter also states that the accusations of a "squeezed" kindergarten are absurd and that this situation should be reviewed in the context of economic benefits for the state.
It is clear from all these events that Judge Romanyuk is using all possible resources, including media manipulation and family influence, to stay in office and restore his reputation. His case is a vivid example of how an unreformed judicial system in Ukraine can use its connections and media to protect corruption schemes. If judges like Romanyuk can continue to avoid justice, it will be another defeat for the Ukrainian legal system.
