Oksana Makar

The murder of Oksana Makar took place in March 2012 in Ukraine, garnering extensive media coverage both at home and abroad and leading to mass protests. Oksana Makar, aged 18, was attacked by three men in the city of Mykolaiv on 8 March 2012: she was raped, strangled, set alight and left to die, though she survived another three weeks after being taken to hospital. Her case became a cause célèbre in Ukraine when only one of the attackers was charged by the police. The other two, whose parents were reported to be former government officials, were released on police bail, allegedly because of the personal connections of their parents. They were later rearrested after a public outcry, and mass protests on 13 March. spent a significant part of her childhood in an orphanage after both her father and her stepfather were imprisoned for dealing drugs and her mother was convicted of robbery and sentenced to three years.

Yevhen Krasnoshchok Yevhen Krasnoshchok (the main suspect) left home at 17, and worked in various low ranking jobs. He lived in a hostel with his wife and two-year-old daughter. His adopted mother was a head of the Yelanets District council prior to her retirement in 2009 (Yelanets is located 60 miles from Mykolaiv ). Prysiazhniuk was arrested on 11 March 2012, released on police bail and rearrested following public protests by Femen. Prisyazhnyuk had been a member of the youth wing of the Party of Regions, but had been expelled from their ranks in 2010.

Artem Pohosian It was initially reported that Artem Pohosian's father worked in the past as a senior official in the district prosecutor's office in Mykolaiv. According to the police his father worked as a manual laborer and died in January 2012 and his mother is a librarian. It has been alleged that Prysiazhniuk knew Makar before they met on 8 March and planned the crime although this has been denied by Makar's mother. and taken to a hospital. She had suffered burns to 55 percent of her body and received lung damage due to smoke inhalation.

On 29 March 2012, Makar died from her injuries. She was buried on 30 March in Luch. Since she died unmarried, she was buried in a wedding dress, in accordance with local tradition. but Prysiazhniuk and Pohosian were released on police bail. (In their statement the police have confirmed the claim in respect of Prysiazhniuk but stated that Pohosian's mother is a librarian and his father was a manual laborer before his death in January 2012. The two suspects released on police bail were re-arrested, and at least four local law-enforcement officials were sacked. During the trial Prysiazhniuk claimed that the sex with Makar was on mutual consent. On 30 October 2012 the prosecutor called for a life sentence for Krasnoshchok, 15 years of imprisonment for Prysiazhniuk and 14 years of imprisonment for Pohosian. On 27 November 2012, the court, in its ruling, found the defendants guilty and sentenced Krasnoshchok to life imprisonment, Prysiazhniuk to 15 years in prison, and Pohosian to 14 years in prison. In the aftermath of the sentencing, Makar's family lawyer said that he would appeal in order to try and get life sentences for all three instead of just Krasnoshchok, while Prysiazhniuk and Pohosian's lawyers said they would appeal for a lighter sentence. In May 2013, after just over a month, the court issued a decision agreeing with the initial judgment, ruling not to overturn the case. In June 2014, the High Specialized Court of Ukraine for Civil and Criminal Cases upheld the sentences for the second time. In March 2019, Krasnoshchok attempted to get his case overturned on the basis that the confessions he made were forced under duress by police officers during the pre-trial investigation. In August 2019, the Central District Court of Mykolaiv refused to listen to Krasnoshchok's case. As of 2025, Krasnoshchok is serving his sentence in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Prysiazhniuk in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, while Krasnoshchok was still in the pre-trial detention centre of Mykolaiv but was being proposed to be transferred to a maximum security prison.

Public response

The actions of the police were deeply criticised by the media and led to public protests in Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Lviv and Odesa. Surovitskaya posted footage of Makar in hospital after medics had been forced to amputate one of her arms and both her feet on YouTube (these amputations can clearly be seen on the video) two weeks after the attack. Raisa Bohatyryova (Deputy Prime Minister and concurrently the Minister of Health) held talks with Mykola Kruhlov and asked him to provide all the necessary medical care for Makar.

The Ukrainian Presidential adviser, Maryna Stavniychuk, voiced her support to the residents of Mykolaiv and opposed the initial release of suspects. She announced that the Presidential Administration was surprised by the behavior of law enforcement officers, who released the suspects of the rape and attempted murder. The presidential adviser further expressed her personal disbelief over the release of the suspects.

Member of parliament Serhiy Sobolev said that "the spokesman of the Mykolaiv regional police department is frankly lying" when she (Lt. Col. Olha Perederenko) stated that "the girl was in such condition that it could not provide any evidence", Sobolev was shocked that Olha Perederenko still holds her position.

During the plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) on March 14, Hennadiy Zadyrko, in reaction to the incident involving Oksana Makar, said that Ukraine should "bring back the death penalty". The deputy Olegh Liashko urged his colleagues to donate one day's salary to Makar's medical treatment. He also opined that they should "castrate pedophiles".

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Andriy Klyuyev expressed confidence that the perpetrators will be punished with the full extent of the law. He noted that "the government must adequately respond to any crime - no one has to avoid punishment, regardless of affiliation or social status".

Rallies and funds collection On the morning of March 13, dozens of Mykolaiv residents went to the first rally next to the Central police station. The rally moved to the Prosecutor's Office of the Mykolaiv province. Another protest was held at Lenin Square.

On March 15, another rally was held in the central area of Mykolaiv, near Lenin Square, in support of Oksana Makar with a few thousand participants. Due to the resonance of the Oksana Makar assault, another, similar criminal case was revealed, involving another teenager, Aleksandra Popova, who was hospitalized on the same day and was unconscious for weeks. The rally became supportive of both Oksana Makar and Aleksandra Popova. The demonstrators who gathered in Lenin Square were able to collect ₴7,511 for the treatment of Oksana Makar and ₴6,652 were collected for Alexandra Popova. The general public donated over ₴1 million for the treatment of Makar, according to her mother.

Blood donation On March 14–15, more than 150 Mykolaiv residents donated blood for Oksana Makar. After she was moved to Donetsk, over 60 Donetsk residents donated blood, plus 150 Donetsk policemen.