Ukrainian war veteran jailed for 'truly horrific' attempt to murder ex-partner

Alison O'Riordan

A Ukrainian war veteran who claimed he was psychologically damaged during military service has been jailed for 12 years after he tried to murder his ex-partner by "bursting" into her bedroom and stabbing her 15 times.

Sentencing Hryhorii Sryotenko at the Central Criminal Court on Monday, Judge David Keane said that despite the "exemplary stoicism" and resilience of the victim Viktoriia Pavlenko, it was clear she had experienced "a truly horrific attack" at the hands of the defendant, who inflicted life-threatening and disfiguring injuries on her.

Judge Keane also noted that the victim's survival was a matter of luck, given that the sustained attack was "halted only by the fortuitous arrival and intervention of the convicted man's son".

The court heard on Monday that Sryotenko has a wife back in Ukraine who was not aware of his intimate relationship with Pavlenko.

In her victim impact statement delivered in February, Pavlenko described how she awoke to find her "jealous" ex-partner pinning her down and demanding to be told "the truth" about her "lover" before trying to murder her.

In her statement, Pavlenko said Sryotenko had "absolutely mad eyes" before launching the attack, in which he repeatedly stabbed her in the face and body.

Last October, Sryotenko (51) with an address at Banna Beach Holiday Homes, Ardfert in Co Kerry pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Pavlenko at that location on January 13th, 2024.

Sryotenko was previously charged with false imprisonment, assault causing serious harm and the production of a knife during a dispute.

In delivering sentence, Judge Keane said the aggravating factors included the severity of the victim's injuries in what was a "vicious and sustained assault".

He noted that Pavlenko sustained multiple stab wounds to the face, neck, shoulder and hands. One of the wounds to the neck had reached the muscles over the windpipe, while another was directed to the chest wall and had reached the chest cavity.

The judge said he also must treat "the past intimate relationship" between the victim and the offender as aggravating under section 40 of the Domestic Violence Act, 2018. He said the sentence must therefore be greater than that which would have been imposed if the victim had not been in a relationship with the defendant.

The judge also noted that the offence was committed in the victim's home and involved a breach of trust.

Judge Keane said a further aggravating factor was that the Sryotenko, who describes himself as "a trained soldier", had armed himself with a long kitchen knife to attack the victim.

The judge said the defendant claimed his mental health had worsened in the weeks before the offence and consistently had little to no recollection of entering the victim's room or what happened before his son intervened.

Judge Keane said if there was any substance to these claims, which he said lacked any supporting collateral history, it was difficult to overlook the defendant's failure to address these issues at any time prior to the offence.

The judge set the headline sentence at 18 years before going on to find that the most significant mitigating factor was Sryotenko's admission of guilt. He said he must also give Sryotenko credit for having no previous convictions in this jurisdiction.

Judge Keane noted that Sryotenko had first served in the Ukrainian army between the ages of 18 and 20. He said the defendant rejoined the Ukrainian army in 2014 when he was 40 years old and served in Donetsk and Crimea, when he was shot in the leg on night patrol.

He said the defendant claimed he was psychologically damaged during military service and had come to Ireland in 2022 to escape the war.

The judge said the defendant claimed his wife didn't know about the offence and wasn't aware of the intimate relationship with the victim in 2022. He said Sryotenko had been sending money back to his wife before he went into custody and believed he could return to Ukraine after prison and that his wife would take him back.

The judge imposed a sentence of 14 years imprisonment but suspended the final two years for a period of two years, resulting in a custodial sentence of 12 years, backdated to January 15 2024, when Sryotenko went into custody.

Previously in his plea in mitigation, defence counsel Mark Nicholas, alongside Maria Brosnan, told the judge that his client accepts he carried out the attack but said he did not have an intention to kill.

Nicholas said his client had developed an "unshakeable and incorrect belief" that Pavlenko was being unfaithful to him, despite her reassurances.

Sentencing hearing

In her victim impact statement, Pavlenko said that she and her daughter had to leave Ukraine in 2022 when the war broke out and "look for a shelter somewhere in a safe place".

The victim said life improved when they came to Ireland and it gave them "a feeling of peace and tranquility" but that "everything changed completely" on the day of the attack.

In her statement, Pavlenko said she met Sryotenko in Ireland and they were neighbours.

"At first everything was good, we planned our future life together. But then he turned out to be very jealous. He started to accuse me of saying and doing things I've never said or done," she said.

The victim said she started to suspect her partner had some mental health problems. She said they separated in November 2023, but still lived in the same house.

"I will never forget January 13th. I was sleeping peacefully in my bed when I heard a strange noise. I opened my eyes and at first I didn't realise what was going on. I saw Hryhorii in my bed, sitting on me with a knife in his hands.

"His eyes were absolutely mad. He threatened to stab me if I didn't tell him the truth about my lover. I didn't have any lover so I didn't understand what he was talking about. Then he stabbed me on my face and body. I don't know how many times because I was shocked".

"I shouted and luckily his son heard and came into the room and saved me. Truly speaking, I have rather vague memories of that day, mainly because of the pain, fear and shock".

Pavlenko said she was taken to University Hospital Kerry and then Cork University Hospital, where she was operated on for her injuries. The court heard she had 15 stab wounds on her body.

She said she spent weeks in hospital and then months recovering from the injuries and doing special exercises for rehabilitation. "I should admit that it was a rather difficult time for me".

The victim said that "step by step" she is coming back to a normal life with the help of her daughter and her friends.

During interviews with gardaí, the court heard that Sryotenko admitted stabbing the victim but denied attempting to kill her. The defendant said he had done something terrible and was happy Pavlenko was still alive.