You're reading: Turchynov’s wife attacked by Donetsk lawyer who asked court to strip Bandera, Shukhevych of Hero of Ukraine titles

The wife of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov, Hanna, was attacked by a lawyer from Donetsk, Volodymyr Olentsevych, who had filed lawsuits against president Viktor Yuschenko's decrees awarding Hero of Ukraine titles to Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych, a legal challenge against the pardon granted to the current prosecutor general, Yuri Lutsenko, and sued Turchynov over the unlawful ouster of Viktor Yanukovych.

“Details of yesterday’s assault also have emerged. The culprit had been waiting for the woman outside her work office. Because the man was relying on a photo from the Internet, on which Hanna Turchynova had a short hair cut, poor lighting led him to attack another teacher with a similar hair cut. Having caught her by the neck, he put a knife to her throat and addressed the teacher as Hanna Volodymyrivna, advising her not to resist,” the Ukrainian Interior Ministry’s department of communications said on May 26.

“The shocked woman explained that she was not who the assailant thought she was. Having realized his mistake, the culprit attempted to replace the victim. Hanna Turchynova, who was standing nearby, started screaming. Having taken advantage of the assailant’s confusion, a security guard knocked the knife out of his hand and overpowered him. Hanna Turchynova personally called the police, who arrived and apprehended the culprit,” according to the statement.

A search found Olentsevych in possession of a personal profile on A. Turchynova, and a copy of Acting Ukrainian President O. Turchynov’s decree ordering the launch of a military operation in Donbas. “The assailant had been planning to leave it [the copy of the decree] at the crime scene,” the Interior Ministry said.

An inquiry has been launched under the “premeditated murder attempt” article of the Ukrainian Criminal Code.