Is it true that a janitor in Kyiv was detained for using the Ukrainian flag as a garbage bag?

In May 2024, news appeared in the media and social networks about the initiation of a criminal case in Ukraine against a janitor who allegedly wrapped garbage in the country’s flag. We checked whether such publications are true.

Reports of the arrest of a resident of the Ukrainian capital spread on May 13 - the man was allegedly collecting mown grass and garbage in an improvised yellow and blue bag made from the flag of Ukraine. They wrote about this incident “Russian newspaper", Lenta.ru, "Arguments and facts", "Federal Press"and other Russian media. "Moscow region today“added that “the police detained the janitor and took him to the department for investigation.” Some online publications and users social networks clarified that the janitor now faces up to 10 years in prison. According to the TGStat service, posts about this event in Russian-language Telegram channels received more than 2 million views. In particular, they spoke about the detention of the janitor “Live broadcast"(760,000 at the time of writing this analysis), "Truthfulness"(212,000), "Sheikh Tamir"(140,000), "Bullet" (105,000), as well as users "VKontakte", Facebook, X And "Zena"

Most publications about the incident refer to the Ukrainian news portal TSN, which released an article about a Kiev janitor on May 13 at 15:26 Moscow time. TSN, in turn, indicates as a source a post published in Facebook user Vadim Bondarenko. His page is closed, but media materials contain screenshots of a publication in which the author is outraged by what he saw and asks for “repost and explanation.”

Judging by reports in the Ukrainian media and marks in photographs on social networks, Bondarenko is a resident of Kyiv and a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. IN comments Under one of the reposts, Bondarenko clarified that his wife, Nadya Pavlova, was the first to notice the bag of leaves. Under the same post, she wrote: “I called the police. Now I’m waiting for the investigative team to write a statement. This is the Desnyansky district, next to Krasnaya Kalina Avenue, 15, the administrative building from the entrance to the registry office.”

From publications Ukrainian publications it follows that representatives of Kyiv law enforcement agencies came to place incident in the northeast of the city, accepted Pavlova’s statement and began an investigation into the “incident with the state flag of Ukraine.”

However, “Verified” was unable to find official reports that the janitor was “caught,” as many authors write publications in Russian-language media and Telegram channels, or at least established his identity. Statements that the utility worker faces 10 years in prison are also erroneous - theoretically, the janitor’s actions fall under article 338 The Criminal Code of Ukraine, which prohibits desecration of state symbols, but we did not find any press releases about the initiation of a criminal case. Such a violation may be punishable by a fine, arrest for up to six months, or imprisonment for up to three years.

“Verified” contacted the Kyiv police for comment, but at the time of publication of the analysis did not receive a response.

Thus, the incident with the Ukrainian flag, described in the media and social networks, really happened. However, the authors of a number of notes and posts that described what happened made several inaccuracies. First, there is no confirmation that the janitor was caught or that any specific person has been charged. Secondly, for such an offense he may face not 10 years, but up to three years in prison - and only if the actions of the utility company are recognized as public and intentional.

Cover photo: TSN

Half-truth

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