The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv rejected the defense motion of Ihor Kolomoisky to change the order of evidence examination in the attempted murder case. The victim Serhiy Karpenko gave testimony in the case for the first time, Ukrainian News reports, as conveyed by UNN.
Kolomoisky's lawyers also insisted that the statute of limitations for the events of 2003 had already expired. The prosecution opposed this, the victim supported the prosecution's position, and the court refused to grant the motion to close the criminal proceedings due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
The victim Karpenko gave testimony in the courtroom for the first time during the case hearing. Before giving testimony, he addressed the court with an opening statement.
"I am asked why I am returning to this after so many years. The answer is simple: not because I want revenge. I am a lawyer by education, a former attorney, and therefore I believe in procedure, not in lynching. I also understand that every crime that goes unpunished becomes permission for the next crime. Unpunished evil returns," he said.
In his testimony, Karpenko detailed the events that preceded the attempt on his life. According to him, he first crossed paths with Kolomoisky in 1994 during negotiations. Over the following years, Karpenko, as a lawyer, occasionally collaborated with business structures connected to Ihor Kolomoisky's business, in particular with the oligarch's partner Mykhailo Kiperman. It was then, Karpenko emphasizes, that he first encountered outright pressure: in particular, Mykhailo Kiperman personally threatened to "put him under the hammers."
At the beginning of 2003, Karpenko, as a legal consultant, worked with Kostiantyn Hryhoryshyn, a shareholder of Dniprospetsstal, a company whose shareholder meetings were illegally blocked. On July 3, 2003, Karpenko, together with partners, provided legal support for the meeting despite attempts by Kolomoisky and his partners to disrupt the procedure.
The next day, Karpenko said, he was summoned to the oligarch's office, where, in the presence of Kiperman, he stated losses of $2 million and demanded that the meeting be declared illegal.
"You will be rolled under the asphalt, banknotes will be cut from your skin," — such threats, according to Karpenko's testimony, were made during that meeting. Karpenko and his partners refused to comply with the demands, and on July 8, 2003, one of their office employees ended up in intensive care after an attack using pipes and hammers. Soon, Karpenko himself was also injured, receiving multiple stab wounds and being beaten with metal objects.
Karpenko's lawyer is convinced that despite numerous motions by Ihor Kolomoisky's defense to close the case due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, the process is only gaining momentum. According to him, this case has already become a symbol that even after more than two decades, society and justice are not ready to tolerate impunity and seek to bring the investigation of the attempted murder to its logical conclusion.
The hearing of the high-profile case of the attempted murder of lawyer Serhiy Karpenko will continue on July 15, 2026. It is on this date that the court scheduled the second part of the victim's interrogation.
As reported, lawyer Karpenko filed a lawsuit against Kolomoisky seeking recovery of UAH 4.4 billion in moral compensation for the attempted murder.