For the vicious July 4 assault on Korshunova, Landik deserves to go to prison. His crime was caught on videotape in the Luhansk restaurant where – apparently after she spurned the older married man’s advances – he dumped a drink on her and punched her, before dragging her around the restaurant by her hair.
Landik was a Luhansk City Council member at the time, while his father is a powerful national lawmaker with the pro-presidential Party of Regions.
There are signs that, if Korshunova indeed does not want to press charges, she did so under duress. Volodymyr Landik, father of the woman-beater, reportedly threatened to push for a criminal case against Korshunova for defending herself by striking Landik once during the assault.
One can only imagine what other threats the young woman is facing.
All of that is more reason to ignore any plea of leniency for Landik. The assault on Korshunova was not only a crime against her, it was a crime against the state – meaning all people of Ukraine.
That’s why a strong state that protects its citizens will prosecute Landik to the full extent of the law. Victims are naturally frightened and traumatized, especially when dealing with powerful adversaries.
The attempts to deflect blame onto the victim, who was hospitalized with a concussion and numerous other serious injuries, are all the more reason to punish Landik severely. If he gets away with this assault, it will only be a matter of time before he commits another crime.
It will also embolden other men with powerful connections to feel that they can get away with beating women.
In this case, if Ukraine’s massively corrupt judicial system wants to regain a shred of credibility, Landik will be sitting for a good long spell in prison and his father should be told to butt out.
