On 5 August, Andriy and Mariia were travelling on Lviv minibus No. 23 to the Botanical Garden. They wanted to arrange a wedding photo shoot. They had not been able to do so earlier, as Andriy Kulikov is one of the defenders of Mariupol. He has been defending Ukraine from the enemy since 2014. He was taken prisoner by the Russians, spent 4 months in captivity and was released in September 2022.
Andriy and Mariia got on the minibus. There was only one free seat, because a bag belonging to passenger Yuliia Kahaniak was on the other one. She herself was sitting in another seat. Andriy politely asked the woman to free the seat by moving the bag. However, the bag's owner began aggressively elbowing him. Kulikov told Kahaniak that he is a war veteran with a disability. The woman's reaction was shocking: «I don't give a f... that you're a veteran». When Mariia Soshnikova stepped into the argument, Yuliia Kahaniak began hitting her, first with her hands and then with her feet. After that, the attacker began shouting to the whole minibus that veterans were beating her, and when she saw Mariia calling the police, she tried to run away. The case of the aggressive Lviv minibus passenger is now being heard by the Sykhivskyi Court of Lviv.
The first hearing was due to take place on 5 September. However, the defendant never showed up in the courtroom. First she complained about her health, and then, as it turned out, despite her «illness» she ended up... at work. The next hearing was due on 22 September. But it was postponed again. The court has now scheduled another hearing for 24 September.
Yuliia Kahaniak's lawyer, Zenovii Kinash (his client herself was absent from the hearing), says the woman is ready to apologise. However, not publicly, only to the couple. To which Mariia Soshnikova rightly remarked: «I have been in situations like this more than once, I don't need your apology. But you insulted the military...».
The case against Kahaniak during the war and martial law must set an example. At a time when our soldiers, sparing nothing, defend us from the enemy... At a time when conscientious Ukrainians give their last shirt to help our Defenders... Some people allow themselves, to put it mildly, to behave aggressively towards those who have lost their health and been wounded so that people like Yuliia Kahaniak can enjoy a relatively quiet and peaceful life in the rear. And then publicly allow themselves outbursts like: «I don't give a f... that you're a veteran». So will our Defenders want to risk their lives and health for such «individuals»? It is no wonder that more and more soldiers go AWOL and do not come back. Because instead of a bow and a seat, this is what they get in return...