Veteran throws egg at Yermak after court hearing
Viktor Lakhno (Photo: Slidstvo.Info)
Viktor Lakhno, a Ukrainian veteran who spent time in Russian
captivity, threw an egg at former presidential office head Andriy
Yermak on May 14, Ukrainian outlet Slidstvo.Info reported.
The incident took place after a hearing in the High Anti‑Corruption Court, where Yermak was ordered into pre-trial detention over money laundering charges brought against him by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO).
After the hearing, Lakhno threw an egg at Yermak and shouted at him, and police detained him. Lakhno posted an Instagram video showing himself in handcuffs being led into a police paddy wagon; Slidstvo.Info said he was released that evening.
A Kyiv police spokeswoman told reporters, “We spoke with the man; the question of bringing him to administrative responsibility is being decided.”
Lakhno said on social media that he spent about three hours at a police station giving statements and had no complaints about the police. He said he threw the egg out of outrage over Yermak’s behavior during the hearing.
“During the hearing the man was whitewashing his reputation with thanks from military units, the Advocat+ service, trips to frontline towns, his presence in Ukraine and assistance to prisoners of war — creating the image of a good person while sitting in the dock in a case that concerns the embezzlement of state funds by him and his circle,” Lakhno wrote.
Yermak told journalists he learned about the incident from video and had not noticed it at first. “I honestly did not see it. Later I saw some video. I tried to find out what the man’s questions were, but there probably wasn’t time,” he said.
Lakhno fought in eastern Ukraine beginning in 2016 and after
Russia’s full‑scale invasion joined efforts to break the siege of
Mariupol. He was among 72 volunteers flown into the besieged city by helicopter
and was captured with other defenders of Azovstal. He spent 13 months in
Russian captivity and was exchanged in June 2023.
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