8 Years Without an Answer: How the Case Involving a Fatal Car Accident in Which a NABU Detective Was Involved Was Closed
Attorney Oleksandr Shcherbina, who represents the family of the late Marina Arustamova, appealed to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy regarding the closure of the criminal case involving the fatal traffic accident in which the 23-year-old woman died.
Background to the Appeal
The accident occurred on April 2, 2018, on Vasylkivska Street in Kyiv. A car driven by NABU detective Andriy Rusayev struck 23-year-old Marina Arustamova. The young woman was hospitalized with severe injuries, but she died in the hospital on April 11.
A criminal investigation was opened back in 2018. Initially, it was investigated by the National Police, but in July 2019, the Kyiv Prosecutor’s Office deemed the investigation ineffective and transferred the case to the State Bureau of Investigations.
Several more years passed, and in 2025, the State Bureau of Investigations closed the case, concluding that Rusayev’s actions did not constitute a criminal offense. At the same time, according to the lawyer, throughout the years of the investigation, the NABU detective was never granted suspect status and remained a witness in the case of the fatal traffic accident.
Where Did the Court Rulings Go?
The injured party appealed the order to close the case in court. However, journalists were unable to find the actual court decisions mentioned in this story in the public court records. In particular, it is not possible to access the full text of the trial court’s ruling, which, according to the lawyer, dismissed the family’s complaint. Shcherbina himself claims that the relevant rulings were previously available but have since disappeared.
“You won’t see them. I won’t claim that this is the work of NABU investigators, but the rulings that were there have been removed, as I understand it,” the lawyer said. According to him, the victim’s side is currently appealing the trial court’s decision.
And this is not the only circumstance that raises questions for the lawyer regarding how this case was investigated and concluded. One of the arguments in favor of closing the case was the conclusion of a psychological evaluation involving a polygraph test. It was conducted by an expert who had previously worked on the case of the murder of journalist Pavel Sheremet and, according to the lawyer, was later subject to disciplinary action.
The case file also contains another report by a court-appointed expert—a psychologist and polygraph examiner—initiated by a State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) investigator. It states that during the relevant procedural actions, Rusaev made false statements; thus, there are two conclusions that contradict each other. It is not yet possible to determine which of them—and why—the investigation used as the basis for its decision to close the case. Oleksandr Shcherbina speculates that the court may also have been influenced.
“I think there is influence on the court as well. That’s my assumption, let’s put it that way,” the lawyer said.
That is precisely why the attorney appealed to the president. At the same time, he emphasizes that he is not asking Zelenskyy to determine who is at fault or to interfere in the case. His request is to draw attention to the proceedings and ensure that the circumstances are properly investigated by the competent authorities.
One Call from NABU
After eight years, Marina Arustamova’s family would surely like to understand why the fatal traffic accident did not result in a trial but rather in the closure of the criminal case, and why the person who was behind the wheel of the car that struck the young woman has remained a witness all this time?
As the attorney explained, Rusayev has not been in contact with Marina’s family. There was one phone call after the accident, but even that was quite telling: the driver did not introduce himself to the family but simply said, “This is NABU calling.”
Given this start, it’s hard to view any subsequent contact as a genuine attempt to maintain a relationship with the family of the young woman who died in the accident. According to Shcherbina, over the following years, there was never any meaningful communication between Rusayev and the Arustamova family.
