Stavitsky challenges results of Kherson veterans' council elections

Judicial challenge to voting results

Mykola Stavitsky, who previously served as a deputy of the Kherson Regional Council and is currently on military service, has initiated legal proceedings against the Kherson Regional Military Administration. His aim is to annul the official results of the elections to the Council of Veterans for Ukraine's Independence and to order a re-vote.

According to data from the publication MOST, the lawsuit was filed in May 2026. Subsequently, the Odesa District Administrative Court opened the relevant proceedings.

Voting results

Viktor Bilan, a former platoon commander of the 56th Brigade, was declared the winner of the elections. He received 19 votes.

Mykola Stavitsky, nominated as a candidate by the public organisation "Dignity. Activity. Determination. Firmness. Kherson", received only three votes. This defeat became the reason for his appeal to the court.

Prior experience and connections

Previously, Mykola Stavitsky worked as an assistant to Vladyslav Mangher, the former head of the Kherson Regional Council, who was convicted by a court for the murder of activist Kateryna Handziuk.

It is worth noting that Oleksiy Levin served as Stavitsky's assistant and is also a defendant in the Handziuk case, having received a guilty verdict.

In addition, MOST mentions Stavitsky's long-standing connections with Olha Danylova, an adviser to the Ombudsman on veterans' policy issues. However, sources provide no evidence that she had any influence on the outcome of the elections to the Veterans' Council.