On April 25, the Appeal Court of Odessa Region ruled to replace pre-trial detention with an alternative measure for lawyer and corresponding member of EUASU Academy, Olga Panchenko — bail set at 64,500 hryvnias.

As a reminder, Panchenko was detained by representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in the Odessa region and the Prosecutor's Office of the Odessa region on April 15, 2025. The detention was carried out within the framework of the Maltsev case, in which Panchenko serves as defense counsel.

On April 17, 2025, the court issued a ruling imposing a preventive measure in the form of detention without the right to post bail against attorney Panchenko, which sparked widespread indignation among lawyers in the Odessa region. Panchenko received strong support from many attorneys as well as from the public organization “Defense of Lawyers' Rights of Ukraine.”

The decision of the appellate court was reported by Vadym Semenov, Head of the Committee for the Protection of Professional Rights of Lawyers and the Implementation of Guarantees of Legal Practice at the Odessa Region Bar Council:

"A victory in the case of Olga Panchenko! The Court of Appeals has set bail at 64,500 hryvnias. Today Olga will be free. I thank all my fellow attorneys who supported her during this difficult time!".

Nevertheless, attorneys stress that the fight is just beginning and urge their colleagues across Ukraine to prevent this kind of practice from becoming a precedent.

April 25, 2025