Bichon dog died after falling from sixth floor in Sviatoshyn — case qualified under article with punishment up to 8 years
# Unknown Throws Dog From Sixth Floor Window in Kyiv In Kyiv, an unknown person threw a bichon frise dog from a sixth-floor window on Chornobylska Street. Investigators opened a criminal case under Part 3 of Article 299 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — the most severe provision concerning animal cruelty.
By Tetiana Suchkova-Ladik
June 10, 2026 · 2 min read
On June 9 at around 1:00 PM in the Sviatoshynskyi district of Kyiv, on Chornobylska Street, a small Bichon Frise dog was thrown from a window of a multi-story building. The animal died at the scene from the injuries sustained. Kyiv police reported the incident, and animal rights activists confirmed the details.
A man threw a Bichon Frise dog from the sixth floor of a multi-story building on Chornobylska Street. The dog died at the scene from the injuries sustained.
— from a statement by animal rights activists, according to "Realnyy Kyiv"
Investigators from the Sviatoshynskyi police department have launched a pre-trial investigation. The case has been classified under Part 3 of Article 299 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — cruel treatment of animals with aggravating circumstances.
What Part 3 of Article 299 means
The basic version of the article provides for one to three years of restricted liberty or two to three years of imprisonment. Part three applies if the crime was committed with particular cruelty, in the presence of a minor, against two or more animals, repeatedly, by a group of persons, or by so-called active methods — including throwing from a height. The penalty is five to eight years of imprisonment.
The identity of the suspect has not been officially established at the time of publication, and police have not reported any detention.
Not the first case in the capital
Kyiv records similar crimes on a regular basis. In early 2025, in the Dniprovskyi district, a man under the influence of drugs lured an 8-month-old dog into an apartment, tortured it, threw it from the fifth floor, and beat it to death with his feet in front of a child — the suspect was then placed in custody. Despite stricter penalties introduced in 2017, sentences under Article 299 in actual imprisonment remain rare: cases are more often closed or result in suspended sentences.
The specific question here is whether police will identify the suspect quickly enough for the case to reach court, or whether the proceedings will stall at the pre-trial investigation stage, as has happened with most similar cases in Kyiv.
