Car belonging to former deputy editor-in-chief of pro-Russian media Strana.Ua burnt out – photos
Pravda Ukraine
A Range Rover belonging to Svitlana Kriukova, former deputy editor-in-chief of pro-Russian media outlet Strana.Ua, who was sanctioned in January 2025, was burnt out in Kyiv in the evening on 13 February.
Source: UP sources in law enforcement; Kriukova in a comment to UP
Quote from Kriukova: “The car was burned out. No one has ever wished me a Happy Valentine’s Day like this before. A month ago, the president imposed sanctions on me by decree. Among other things, the decree included restrictions on using and disposing of my movable property. So I hired a driver.
Most of the time, the driver used the car to take my children to sports clubs, and in the evenings, he parked it near his home. That is where the incident occurred.”
Details: The incident took place on 13 February. Law enforcement sources reported that the Range Rover, used by Kriukova, caught fire in a courtyard in Kyiv’s Desnianskyi district around midnight.
The fire damaged an apartment on the second floor of a building and its facade, but no one was injured.
The fire was extinguished in time, but the car is beyond repair.
Police are currently determining the cause of the fire – whether it was an explosion or arson. Relevant examinations and investigative actions are underway.
Kriukova stated that she understands who was behind it but refrained from naming specific individuals. However, she immediately mentioned a blogger-volunteer and an activist she had previously sued, as well as the President’s Office, citing the recent sanctions imposed on her for spreading Russian propaganda.
Quote from Kriukova: “My list of adversaries is extensive and well-known, some of them emerged long before the sanctions. In recent months, I have been in a legal dispute with blogger Ihor Lachenkov, activist Denys Koshelnyk and their associates… It is also obvious that I have adversaries in the President’s Office… Today, I learned a new name – Dmytro Lytvyn [presidential adviser – ed.].”
Background:
- On 19 January, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree implementing the National Security and Defence Council’s decision on sanctions against propagandists working for Russia, as well as depriving a number of pro-Russian figures of state awards. Kriukova was among those sanctioned.
- In September 2024, it was reported that Kriukova had sued Lachenkov, “defending her honour and dignity”. Bloggers Roman Sinitsyn (Balan) and Yevhen Pronin also received lawsuits from Kriukova. Her legal representative was set to be lawyer Oleksii Shevchuk, who had previously handled cases for Hennadii Korban, Illia Kyva, Oleksandr Onyshchenko and Boryslav Rozenblat.
- Kriukova was deputy editor-in-chief of the sanctioned outlet Strana.Ua from 2016 to 2022. In 2024, she announced that she was “suspending her professional activities” to focus on family and painting.
Support UP or become our patron!