Court arrests suspect in murder of Odesa activist Hanul
The Kyiv District Court of Odesa has imposed a pre-trial restraint on Serhiy Shalaev, a suspect in the murder of activist Demian Hanul, in the form of detention without bail.
This was reported by an Ukrinform correspondent.
The meeting was partially held in a closed format at the request of the prosecutor.
During the open part of the meeting, it became known that 47-year-old Serhiy Shalaev is a senior lieutenant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, he served in the Odesa 28th Brigade named after the Knights of the Winter Campaign.
In turn, the brigade noted that Shalaev was transferred to them on July 13, 2024 from military unit A0139 and admitted to the reserve company officer's TCO.
“After the transfer, he was treated almost all the time. He was not involved in the area of combat missions. He did not return from vacation to the place of service and is considered to be in the reserve company since February 22, 2025,” the brigade added.
Shalaev was wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet at the meeting.
As Ukrinform reported, on March 14, a public figure Demian Hanul was shot dead in the center of Odesa. Commenting on Hanul's murder, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said that the head of the National Police Ivan Vyhivskyi had gone to Odesa. He said that the information that the shooter was allegedly wearing a military uniform was not true.
Police opened a criminal investigation into the murder of the Odesa public figure. The incident is classified as a contract killing.
Later, law enforcement officers detained a man suspected of murdering activist Demian Hanul. It turned out that he had escaped from the military unit in late February and was wanted.
The detainee was notified of being suspected under two articles of the Criminal Code: Article 115, Part 2, Clause 11, and Article 263, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - premeditated murder committed for hire and illegal handling of weapons.