On Wednesday, March 11, the Kyiv Court of Appeal held the second hearing on the appeal of Artem Kosov, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of teenager Maksym Materukhin at the capital's funicular station.
A correspondent for Suspilny reports this from the courtroom.
Kosov again requested a closed-door court session. At the previous session, the judges had already heard Kosov's position. He requested that his sentence be changed from life imprisonment to Article 119 of the Criminal Code – manslaughter through negligence, which carries a penalty of 3-5 years in prison or restriction of liberty.
What the accused and his lawyer said
Today, March 11, Kosov supplemented his speech: “During the taking of witness statements, they gave different testimonies. Most people indicate that we fell down the stairs. They started beating me, and I didn't see where the deceased fell.”
The defendant's defense attorney, Roman Shchetnitsky, asked the court to re-examine the video evidence from the funicular station. He says that the defense reviewed the video and saw Kosov grab Materukhin by his clothes, they fall, and it's not clear what's happening behind the people's feet.
A session of the Kyiv Court of Appeal, during which they are considering an appeal against the sentence of Artem Kosov, sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of teenager Maksym Materukhin at the funicular station. Kyiv, March 11, 2026. Social News/Lila Honcharuk
“22 seconds later, the victim falls down the stairs, my client tries to help him, he climbs up to his neck. My client did not know where the victim fell. Also, the girl who filmed the story can clearly be heard saying what she said – and this video does not confirm the court's verdict. It refutes the testimony of witnesses and my client's intention to kill someone,” said Shchetnitsky.
The lawyer added that he believes the punishment is too harsh. He notes that this is the first time Kosov has been held accountable for any kind of crime.
The position of the victim's side Materukhin
The victims' defense requested that the evidence not be examined and that the first instance court's ruling be upheld.
“All the witnesses said the same thing, the court of first instance made the right decision. Kosov thinks that if the witnesses saw one thing, it's a conspiracy. If people saw one thing, then it really happened. All the explanations given by the lawyer and the accused are baseless. The court examined the evidence, the witnesses spoke. I want the court to confirm the verdict of the first instance,” said the lawyer for the family of the deceased boy.
Free listeners with portraits of Maksym Materukhin at a session of the Court of Appeal, during which the appeal against the sentence of Artem Kosov is being considered, Kyiv, March 11, 2026. Social News/Lila Honcharuk
Comment from the Prosecutor General
Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko believes that the sentence for Artem Kosov is legal. According to the official, Kosov chose a victim, Maksym Materukhin, from among the passengers, they got out of the funicular car, and Kosov purposefully threw him out the window at the funicular station.
“A number of witnesses confirmed this, they were questioned in court. [Kosov's] blood had 2.4 ppm of alcohol and traces of cannabis use. Given Kosov's service experience, he tried to put a tourniquet on the boy's neck, knowing that he was dead. It was a cynical imitation of saving the teenager's life,” Kravchenko said.
As the correspondent of Suspilny reports, the judges will re-examine the evidence. The appendix to the investigative experiment will not be examined. The examination of the evidence will begin again at the next meeting.
Free listeners at the session of the Court of Appeal, during which the appeal against the sentence of Artem Kosov is being considered, Kyiv, March 11, 2026. Social News/Lila Honcharuk