The Parliament Proposes Severe Punishments for Threats Against Public Officials: Up to 15 Years in Prison.

Bill No. 14372: Strengthening Criminal Liability

According to TSN.ua: A bill No. 14372 has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada, which proposes to strengthen criminal liability for public threats and calls to violence against state and public figures. The authors of the bill are Anton Yatsenko, Mykhailo Kryachko, and Mykola Tyshchenko, who propose to amend Article 346 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

New Changes and Their Consequences

According to the new changes, the liability for:

• threats of murder, causing harm to health, violence, abduction, and illegal deprivation of liberty — will be from 5 to 8 years of imprisonment.
• threats to officials — can be punished by imprisonment for a term of 5 to 8 years.
• public calls to violence — the punishment may range from 6 to 10 years of imprisonment.
• causing bodily harm — the proposed punishment is from 7 to 10 years.
• serious bodily harm — up to 15 years.

Especially severe sanctions are provided for crimes committed during martial law, which in Ukraine is extended until May 4, 2026. In such cases, the punishment will range from 10 to 15 years or even life imprisonment. General mobilization in the country is also extended for an additional 90 days. According to statistics, there may be between 4 to 5 million units of firearms in Ukraine, a significant part of which is not registered.

Thus, bill No. 14372 emphasizes the need to protect state and public figures from violence and threats, which is particularly relevant under martial law in Ukraine. Strengthening criminal liability may be an important step in ensuring the safety of such individuals, considering the escalation of the situation in the country and the high level of threat from both external and internal factors. The public's reaction to this bill may also indicate the readiness of society to defend rights and freedoms in critical conditions.