Serhii Kuzminykh, charged with trading in influence, has had his preventive measure modified to round-the-clock house arrest, with his previously posted bail forfeited.

He was also placed under additional obligations: to appear upon every court summons, to notify the court of any change of residence, to surrender his passports and other travel documents, and to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet.

The prosecutor justified the need for the strictest available measure by arguing that there was no other way to compel Kuzminykh's attendance at hearings short of pre-trial detention.

Kuzminykh has repeatedly missed court hearings, including:

• October 25, 2026 — due to a Verkhovna Rada committee session;
• March 30, 2026 — due to an official trip to Latvia;
• June 1 — due to sick leave, for which no documentation was provided;
• June 22, 2026 — due to a trip to Spain.

The prosecutor sought forfeiture of the previously posted bail of UAH 49,600 to the state, with no alternative bail set, arguing that even the maximum bail amount could not guarantee Kuzminykh's proper procedural conduct.

The statute of limitations in this case expires in January 2027. Within that time, the court must still examine witnesses and defense evidence, examine the defendant himself, hold closing arguments, hear his final statement, and deliver a verdict — which the prosecutor argued is not feasible given Kuzminykh's continued absences.

The defense called the motion to detain Kuzminykh and modify his preventive measure as an MP unlawful, unfounded, and not subject to consideration, arguing it should have required approval from the Prosecutor General or an acting deputy. This had not been done.

Defense counsel also stated that tender committee members examined as witnesses during the trial testified that Kuzminykh had not exerted influence over them.

Regarding his absence from the June 1 hearing, counsel explained that the MP had pneumonia and required continuous inpatient treatment.

The defense argued that applying pre-trial detention would paralyze the work of the Temporary Investigative Commission on the treatment and prosthetics of military personnel and veterans. Notably, that commission is chaired by Yuliia Tymoshenko, whose own case is also before HACC — and it was Tymoshenko who had signed off on Kuzminykh's trip to Spain, with counsel stating she had effectively delegated her chairing duties to him.

The defendant himself stated that over four years and nearly a hundred hearings in the case, the prosecutor had identified only two instances of procedural violations — and that his illness was now being counted against him as an unjustified absence.

Serhii Kuzminykh is charged with trading in influence and accepting a UAH 558,000 bribe during the procurement of medical equipment for hospitals in Zhytomyr Region.

Shortly before this hearing, NABU detectives detained the MP pursuant to a HACC ruling — a response by the prosecution to his systematic failure to appear at hearings and his trips abroad. Prior to the new preventive measure, Kuzminykh had been on bail of UAH 49,600, set back in May 2022.