Case description
Lilia Pavlova, a former Volyn Regional State Administration official, was accused of changing the estimate for the construction of strongholds in the ATO (Joint Forces Operation) zone in the Donetsk region, which resulted in their construction with unsuitable materials. The HACC acquitted her.
In 2017, the then-Prosecutor General Yurii Lutsenko traveled to the front line and saw that instead of strongholds, imitations of them had been built on the second front line. At the same time, the Ministry of Defense boasted back in the summer that three lines of fortifications had been built in the combat zone in a short time. After Lutsenko's visit to the Donbas in November 2017, Lilia Pavlova, who headed the capital construction department of the Volyn Regional State Administration, was suspected of being responsible for that section of the fortifications.
According to the investigation, Pavlova made changes to the construction estimates for the strongholds on her own, which led the contractors to build metal barrels of sand instead of high-quality dugouts, which were unsuitable for use in combat. She was charged with abuse of office under Article 364, part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The HACC found no crime in Pavlova's actions, as it was necessary to build the strongholds in a short time, given the cost savings, hostilities, and limited production capacity. Therefore, the HACC acquitted Pavlova and did not confirm that the Defense Ministry suffered UAH 2 million in losses. Moreover, the Ministry of Defense did not claim any damage and did not even appear at the hearing and confirmed that the construction was carried out according to the agreed technology using containers provided by the Ministry of Defense.
The prosecutor did not have time to file an appeal in time, so he did so late and asked for an extension of the appeal period. The HACC Appeals Chamber denied, and Pavlova's acquittal was upheld.
