A teacher from the Vinnytsia region was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of two schoolchildren

On Monday, September 28, the Vinnytsia City Court handed down a sentence to 24-year-old former English teacher Oleksiy Ponomaryov. The court sentenced him to life in prison for the murder of two high school students in Shargorod.

Oleksiy Ponomaryov’s attorney plans to appeal the court’s decision.

At a preliminary hearing on September 24, the defendant pleaded guilty. The prosecution insisted on a life sentence. The mothers of the victims, 15-year-old Mykola Bilyk and 16-year-old Vladyslav Bevz, also demanded the same punishment.

Prior to the hearing on September 28, it became known that Ponomarev’s defense had requested a 15-year prison sentence.

The court sentenced Ponomaryov to life in prison. The defense announced its intention to appeal the verdict in the appellate court.

During the hearing on September 24, 2026, Ponomarev pleaded guilty and apologized to the mothers of the victims, according to “Suspilne.” He stated that his consciousness had become severely clouded before the attack.

On the morning of September 10, 2025, two schoolboys—15-year-old Mykola Bilyk and 16-year-old Vladyslav Bevz—were killed in downtown Shargorod. According to the investigation, 23-year-old former English teacher Oleksiy Ponomarev stabbed the boys multiple times and fled. About an hour later, he was apprehended in a field 5 km from the crime scene.

On September 11, 2025, the Vinnytsia City Court remanded the suspect in custody without the right to bail. In December 2025, the indictment was submitted to the court.

Earlier in the Vinnytsia region, one of the suspects in the murder of pensioners in the Cherkasy region shot himself while speaking with law enforcement officers. He had called 102 himself and reported that he was near a store in one of the settlements in the Khmilnytskyi district.