Today, a regular hearing took place in the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv regarding the case against former employee of the State Guard Administration Artem Kosov, accused of the intentional murder of the minor Maksym Materukhin at the upper station of the Kyiv funicular in April 2024. The Attorney General Ruslan Kravchenko participated in the hearing.

The hearing was supposed to take place on September 8, but due to a change in the composition of the judges, it did not occur. Therefore, at the beginning of the hearing, the presiding judge informed the participants about the change in the court's composition and the entry of a new judge into the case.

At the request of the prosecution, the court re-examined two witnesses due to the technical absence of a sound recording in the case materials. The witnesses confirmed Kosov's inadequate behavior and his threats to the victim. This is an important procedural step that will prevent the cancellation of the verdict.

Information from the Judo Federation of Ukraine has been included, confirming that all actions regarding the victim were carried out by Kosov with existing martial arts skills.

All testimonies, as well as the conclusions of the comprehensive forensic medical, medical-criminalistic, and traceological examinations, unequivocally confirm that the injuries to Maksym Materukhin were caused by the deliberate actions of the accused. The experts excluded the possibility of the victim sustaining injuries due to negligence and in the manner previously stated by Kosov – that Maksym fell by himself.

The Attorney General drew the court's attention to the unreliability of the defense's claims regarding the provision of medical assistance by the accused: “I find it necessary to draw the court's attention to the fact that from the moment the injuries were sustained until the actions of the accused aimed at creating the illusion of providing medical assistance, more than a minute passed, during which the child had already died.”

After examining the evidence, the process moved to the final stage – the court debates. The prosecution emphasized the particular audacity and cynicism of the defendant's actions and demanded the imposition of the harshest charge – life imprisonment.

“I believe that this is the only possible punishment, maximally close to justice. But there is no full justice here, nor can there be. Maksym lost the most precious thing — his life. His parents lost a son. An uncle — a beloved nephew. Friends — the best friend. And Ukraine lost a future that this boy could have created. Maksym could have become a famous football player, made a discovery, or benefited his country. But we will never know this because the accused took away his chance at life,” noted Attorney General Ruslan Kravchenko.

The next court hearing is scheduled for September 17, 2025, where, after the continuation of the debates, the court is expected to move to the decision-making stage.