The court ordered the attorney to refute the allegations against Faryon's former defense attorney
The Uzhhorod City and District Court ruled that the statements made by Oleksiy Fazekosh, chairman of the Transcarpathian Regional Bar Association, regarding attorney Larisa Kryvoruchko—who had previously defended the defendant accused of the murder of Iryna Farion—were unfounded. Fazekosh, in particular, claimed that she allegedly works for Russia and is its agent. Now, in compliance with the court’s decision, the attorney has publicly refuted these statements.
Oleksiy Fazekosh, chairman of the Transcarpathian Regional Bar Association, was forced to retract his statements regarding attorney Larisa Kryvoruchko. He had previously accused her of working for the Russian Federation and made other defamatory statements. Kryvoruchko had previously served as defense counsel for the defendant in the case of the murder of linguist Iryna Farion. This refers to posts by Fazekosh on social media that he published in 2024. In them, the lawyer claimed that Larisa Kryvoruchko and several other people were allegedly “working for the Russian Federation.”
In addition, Fazekosh claimed that they were allegedly receiving funding via Slovenia from former employees of the Soviet KGB. Separately, his posts contained offensive remarks directed at representatives of the opposition legal community. Fazekos referred to them as “fools” and “pathetic.” In one of his posts, he also effectively compared his opponents to patients in a psychiatric hospital. Kryvoruchko filed a lawsuit demanding a retraction of the information disseminated about her.
The Court’s Ruling
The Uzhhorod City and District Court concluded that Fazekosh’s controversial statements could not be considered merely a personal opinion or assessment. In the court’s view, these statements contained specific assertions of fact. Such assertions are verifiable, so the person spreading them must have evidence to support their truthfulness. At the same time, Fazekosh did not provide the court with sufficient evidence to substantiate his allegations against Kryvoruchko.
As a result, the court found the disseminated information to be untrue and defamatory, damaging the attorney’s honor, dignity, and professional reputation. Fazekosh was ordered to retract this information within five days after the decision became final. He was required to do so by publishing the introductory and operative parts of the decision on his YouTube channel. The Transcarpathian Regional Bar Association was also issued a separate order. It was required to publish these parts of the court decision on its Facebook page.
The decision of the Uzhhorod City and District Court dated October 30, 2025, was subsequently appealed. However, the appellate court dismissed the appeal filed by the Transcarpathian Regional Bar Association. Thus, the decision of the court of first instance remained unchanged.
Fazekosh Retracted His Statements
As a result, Oleksiy Fazekosh complied with the court’s order and published a retraction. He specifically refuted his previous claims regarding Larisa Kryvoruchko’s stay in a psychiatric hospital, as well as his allegations that she was allegedly working for Russia. “I, O. A. Fazekosh, chairman of the Transcarpathian Regional Bar Association, in compliance with the court’s decision, hereby retract the information I disseminated regarding Larisa Kryvoruchko’s stay in Ward No. 6 of a psychiatric hospital. The aforementioned information is not true,” he wrote.
The attorney also retracted his statements regarding Kryvoruchko’s alleged collaboration with Russia. “I also retract the information I disseminated claiming that she works for the Russian Federation and is its agent. The aforementioned information is not true,” his post reads.
Who Is Oleksiy Fazekosh
Oleksiy Fazekosh heads the Bar Association of Zakarpattia Oblast. He is also involved with the Mukachevo Bar Association and the Mukachevo City and District Union of Entrepreneurs. Fazekosh is also known in the public sphere for his involvement in high-profile cases. In particular, he served as the attorney for Metropolitan Pavel of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church—Moscow Patriarchate, who is known as Petro Lebed. Fazekosh also represents Dmitry Sidor, the rector of the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Uzhhorod.
Sidor had previously received a suspended sentence in a case involving separatism. He was later also charged with inciting religious hatred. In 2008, he advocated for the creation of the so-called “Republic of Subcarpathian Rus” in Transcarpathia. In May 2023, on the eve of the court hearing in Sidor’s case, Fazekosh called him “a patriot of Ukraine and Transcarpathia.”
Earlier, attorney Ilya Kostin also described Fazekosh as close to Lydia Izovitova. She worked for many years in the bar association and was an ally of Viktor Medvedchuk. At the same time, a key aspect of this case is that the court specifically considered Fazekosh’s statements regarding Larisa Kryvoruchko. The court found them to be unsubstantiated by adequate evidence and ordered the author to publicly retract them. This is stated in the court’s ruling.
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