Late February - March 2022. The Russian army is gaining ground in the Kharkiv region, in eastern Ukraine. Convoys of vehicles with ‘Z’ markings arrive in Balakliya. The military forces set up checkpoints, conduct searches of civilians, confiscate vehicles and kidnap people. The fate of many of them remains unknown to this day.
In the early days of the full-scale invasion, mayor Ivan Stolbovyi commits to remaining with his community. “We are here today, we are with you, we are with Balakliya, we are with Ukraine in our hearts and souls,” Stolbovyi said in a video message recorded on 28 February 2022 together with the head of the Izyum district, Stepan Maselskyi.
“Russian army offered its help”
Soon, Stolbovyi announces the location where Russian supplies will be unloaded. “Today, Ukraine is giving us absolutely nothing. Yesterday, I spoke with the leadership of the Russian army, they offered their help. It is your right to either accept or reject it, but today we will organise the distribution of humanitarian aid,” Stolbovyi said in a video shared on social medias.
According to investigators, “on 28 March, the mayor held a meeting of the Balakliya City Council executives, encouraging his assistants to be loyal to both the occupying forces and Russia in general,” the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office reported in April 2022.
The head of the Kharkiv Regional Administration, Oleg Synegubov, stated that Stolbovyi “betrayed the interests of the country, Ukrainian defenders and his community”. “Ivan Stolbovyi is about to collaborate with those who are killing our people and destroying our cities,” Synyegubov wrote on social media.
Soon after, the prosecution opened a case. Within a month, the mayor became a suspect of high treason. Law enforcement officials publicly announced the summons in April, when, according to the investigation, Stolbovyi had already left Ukraine with his family for Russia.
The mayor’s political career
Throughout his career, Stolbovyi has changed political affiliations several times. He first was a communist and represented the Party of Regions. In 2010, he campaigned for presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych. A funny episode is associated with Yanukovych’s visit to Balakliya during the 2010 election campaign: while addressing the crowd from the stage at a concert, Yanukovych greeted the ‘residents of Balaklava’ – a district of Sevastopol in Crimea.
Stolbovyi chaired the Balakliya District Administration, was a member of the Kharkiv Regional Council, ran for the Verkhovna Rada [Ukraine Parliament] from the Opposition Bloc, and was elected mayor twice. The last time was in 2020, while representing the Kernes Bloc party – Successful Kharkiv.
His son Pavlo followed in his father’s footsteps. He became a member of the Kharkiv Regional Council from the Kernes Bloc party – Successful Kharkiv – and chaired the municipal institution Kharkiv Reforms Office. After leaving for Russia, the Kharkiv Regional Council stripped him of his mandate.
“We were out of bread”
In February 2022, under the threat of occupation, the Kharkiv Regional State Administration and the Security Service of Ukraine ordered government officials to evacuate to safe areas.
“Everyone had the opportunity to leave. Not just the opportunity, but an order from the head of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration not to remain in the occupied territories. We have eight communities. Seven community leaders, all but one, from Balakliya, left and worked in our territory. Balakliya was still reachable until May 7, 2022. We were still delivering humanitarian aid,” recalls Stepan Maselskyi, head of the Izyum District Military Administration.
He was communicating with Stolbovyi. “I left before the enemy entered Balakliya. I understood that they [the occupiers] were arriving, and I left for Izyum. He [Stolbovyi] continued to answer my phone calls for a couple of days, but then he went silent. And then I saw a video where he was urging people to collaborate with the occupiers. I realised then why he had nothing left to say,” Maselskyi said.
Traffic in the centre of Balakliya continues today despite the siren alert. At the market across from the local administration building, MediaPort asked residents whether they remember the former mayor. “I was present when he gathered people in the square when we were out of bread. He said that he had to collaborate so that people had something to eat. And that it was up to the state to decide whether to punish him or not,” Yaroslava Mokhonko, a resident, said.
- And what about the fact that he left for Russia?
- “Well, he must have got scared. We couldn’t go anywhere. It was really hard. How can I put it... Russia oppressed us. Oppressed us. They were like bosses here,” she continues.
- “He [Stolbovyi] was helping us, girls!” another Balakliya resident who preferred to remain anonymous says. “I don’t know why they turned him into a traitor, saying he betrayed Ukraine and Balakliya. Everyone else fled; he was the only one who remained and helped the people at least a little.”
Residents of Balakliya often mention the bread, distributed by Stolbovyi personally.
Serhiy Tereshchenko from Balakliya was trying not to leave his house during the occupation.
“Those who haven’t experienced it won’t understand what occupation is and what Russians are like. Russians are scum. I spent the entire occupation at home, didn’t go anywhere. As soon as they arrived, especially the Buryats, who were the first to show up, it was complete chaos. Whenever there was a sound, they would all rush in. ‘Who came, who was there?’ ‘Do you have Internet? Do you have a smartphone?’ They cut all the wires,” Serhiy recalls.
Ivan Stolbovyi’s family owned grocery stores all over the city, Serhiy Tereshchenko mentions. The mayor’s wife ran the business. “One was near the square. They [the occupiers] shut that store down,” the Balakliya resident says. One of her stores in the city centre has been closed for a long time now, and the entrance to the grocery store is covered with vegetation.
Across the street is the Alley of Fallen Heroes, Balakliya defenders.
“No one threatened him, physically or psychologically”
Ivan Stolbovyi’s case was brought to court in May 2024. The Balakliya court was unable to form a panel of judges, so jurisdiction was transferred to Chuhuiv, a nearby town. The case is considered by a panel chaired by judge Igor Karimov. An indictment was announced in a special proceeding, but the case has been progressing slowly since then.
MediaPort went to the Chuhuiv court on June 25, 2025 for a hearing in the case, but it did not take place. The court explained the reasons in a written statement: in addition to the absence of the prosecutor, there was not enough time to notify the defendant through the government newspaper Uriadovyi Courier.
What evidence does the investigation have against Stolbovyi? According to prosecutor Oleg Maksyuk, the charges are based on witness statements and expert reports. Investigators did not find any evidence that the Russians forced Stolbovyi to collaborate.
“What exactly did he do? At the beginning of the Russian military aggression, he held a meeting at the Balakliya city administration, encouraging his deputies and city council members to join the enemy and fully collaborate with the Russian occupation forces. There are about eight witness statements providing relevant testimony against him. There are also recordings of him speaking and urging council members and deputies to side with the enemy,” Maksyuk explains.
There are two expert reports in the case, including a portrait analysis.
“During the witness interrogation, no one mentioned that he had been in any way detained or tortured, or that he had been held captive somewhere. We have no such information. No one threatened him, either physically or psychologically. He came forward on his own accord and said that this was his decision, and that whether we condemned him or not, this was his personal decision, and he believed that this was the right thing to do, namely, to provide all possible assistance to the Russian Federation’s armed forces.”
Objective reasons for the delay in proceedings
According to the prosecutor, there are objective reasons for the delay in proceedings: the courts are overloaded, and hearings may be postponed due to the direct impact of the war. Russia is shelling cities in the Kharkiv region, including Chuhuiv.
“Court hearings are scheduled once every three months. We have discussed with the judges the possibility of scheduling hearings as soon as possible and reviewing the case as quickly as possible. The position of the prosecutor’s office is that we are trying to review the case in the shortest possible time,” Maksyuk said.
“According to our sources, he left with his family and is renting an apartment in the Belgorod region. His current occupation is unknown,” the prosecutor said.
Viktor Tserkovnyi, a lawyer from the free legal aid system, is representing the accused in court. He has not communicated with the accused. “Given the specifics of the case, I am unable to establish his position, whether he admits [guilt] or not. I don’t think I will be able to find out, because he is not in Ukrainian territory,” Tserkovnyi said.
The court will examine whether there is sufficient evidence to prove Stolbovyi’s guilt.
“In any case, there is a procedure: if people were questioned as witnesses, they must be summoned to court to tell what they know. As a defence lawyer, I must act in my client’s interests,” Tserkovnyi said.
The accused and his family are not active on social media. The last messages on the Stolbovyi family’s Facebook pages date back to March 2022.
Balakliya now
Just like other cities in the Kharkiv region, Balakliya suffers from Russian shelling, and lately, from drone strikes as well. Locals think there might be potential enemies still hiding within the community.
“If I had the power to gather them all, I wouldn’t send them to prison. I would have them build bridges, roads, and houses. Let them work! If they are locked up in prison, they will just sit there, and you will have to feed them. And how many are already sitting there, waiting?” resident Serhiy Tereshchenko said, shrugging his shoulders.
Yaroslava Mokhonko is convinced that the majority of the community supports Ukraine: “Those who support Russia remain silent. There are still some among us. They will gradually change their minds. Everything will be fine.”
Stepan Maselskyi was friend with Stolbovyi: “Especially since he witnessed what the occupiers did to Balakliya, how they bombed the city day and night, dropping bombs and missiles on the Kharkiv region and so on. And now he went to live among the murderers? My attitude is negative.”
According to statistics from the regional prosecutor’s office for 2024, more than 180 suspects have been charged with high treason since the beginning of the war in the Kharkiv region. Proceedings in absentia are usually considered more quickly. Stolbovyi’s case became one of the most high-profile cases in the region during the war. In 2022, both the authorities and civilians demanded an objective investigation and a fair trial. But now, even in the absence of the accused, hearings are rarely scheduled. This time, the case of the Balakliya former mayor has been postponed for four months, until 1 October.
This report was produced thanks to a grant by Fondation Hirondelle/Justice Info. A full version of this article was published on July 23, 2025, in "Mediaport".
