Former Deputy Head of the State Automobile Inspectorate of Ukraine, Volodymyr Reznikov, who is a defendant in a case concerning illegal ammunition trade, mobilized to the Armed Forces at a time when the court had already begun preliminary hearings in his case. His wife, journalist and editor of the publication "Dzerkalo Tyzhnia" Inna Vedernikova, wrote a post on social media in support of her husband.
However, the wife's own words raise a number of questions.
The essence of the case: training or illegal trade?
In a publication on her page, Vedernikova reported that since the beginning of the full-scale war, her husband had been involved in training territorial defense fighters and volunteers. According to her, those willing to conduct training bought ammunition from Reznikov. Moreover, according to his wife, the ammunition was bought not by military personnel, but by "civilian employees of enterprises" - Vedernikova did not specify which ones. "Payment for training and cartridges for shooting turned out to be an article for arms trafficking," she wrote, also confirming that ammunition was found at their home during the search.
Under Ukrainian law, any transfer of ammunition without a proper license or permits is classified as a crime. The sanction of the article provides for up to 7 years of imprisonment. According to the case materials, Reznikov was exposed in September 2023. As the investigation claims, he did not act independently, but as part of a stable criminal organization that had previously organized for committing crimes (Part 3, Article 28 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
And at the level of support from friends, commentators still draw Vedernikova's attention to an important nuance: "as a police officer (senior officer), he should know the law on the storage and use of firearms very well... It's not as simple as you present it. For a minor violation with the transportation of hunting weapons, police officers initiated criminal cases, and the sale of cartridges is a completely different matter... You can't do without a good lawyer in court. The law must be one for all..." Mobilization and court process However, the court process against the accused is currently suspended due to Reznikov's mobilization. The relevant mobilization certificates were brought by the defense to the Kyievo-Sviatoshynskyi Court, where this case was to be heard.
Vedernikova did not elaborate on Reznikov's sudden desire to serve in the Armed Forces, when the case against him was to be heard in court. However, she confirmed that her husband is not at the front line, but is engaged in training. That is, according to the logic of circumstances, he has the opportunity to attend court hearings and not use mobilization as a tool to avoid a verdict. By analogy with the case of ex-head of the SFS Roman Nasirov, who in the same way wanted to avoid court. Especially since his military unit is located in Kyiv. Maidan, State Automobile Inspectorate and discrepancies in testimonies Separately in her post, Vedernikova mentioned the events of Automaidan in 2014, stating that her husband was on vacation then. However, according to a Radio Svoboda investigation, Reznikov held the position of deputy head of the State Automobile Inspectorate department at that time and publicly commented on the actions of Automaidan participants, stating that they violated traffic rules and therefore their driver's licenses were seized. Thus, officially he was not aloof from the events, as stated in his wife's post.
Is Bankova truly to blame for everything? In her post, Vedernikova accuses the central government of pressure, specifically of persecuting her family and attempting to discredit them. Which, by the way, she did not state immediately, but only after the media resonance. She hints at a possible political motivation for the case, however, under current legislation, no campaign — media or political — can explain the very fact of transferring ammunition to third parties for money. This, it seems, is the key element of the case, which has not yet been challenged in essence, and in the media. After Reznikov's mobilization, the case in court is effectively suspended. Formally due to his service in the Armed Forces. However, given the nature of the accusation and the public resonance, this pause only strengthens suspicions of abuse of the legal mechanism to avoid a verdict. In such a situation, the best solution would be to resume the court proceedings, ensuring all rights of both the accused and the journalist who openly defends him. It is the court: open, transparent, and impartial, that must ultimately answer where volunteer activity ended and a criminal offense began.