Ukrainian war veteran faces sentence for stabbing partner 15 times in 'grim' jealous rage

Alison O'Riordan

It is "grim" that a Ukrainian war veteran who once had a "real romance" with his partner tried to murder her by stabbing her 15 times after developing an "unshakeable" belief that she was being unfaithful to him, his barrister has told the Central Criminal Court.

Last month, Ukrainian refugee Viktoriia Pavlenkohas described how she awoke to find her "jealous" ex-partner Hryhorii Sryotenko pinning her down and demanding to be told "the truth" about her "lover" before trying to murder her.

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

She added: "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".

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.

Beginning Monday's plea in mitigation, defence counsel Mark Nicholas SC alongside Maria Brosnan BL told Judge David Keane that this was a "terrifying" experience for Pavlenko and that anything he said was not to not minimise the shock the victim experienced in her own home.

Counsel said his client has no previous convictions and had given enormous service to his own country. He said Sryotenko had joined the army, where he got a significant leg injury in the 2014 Crimean conflict before being discharged.

"When the current invasion took place he tried to make himself available again but was precluded," counsel explained.

Nicholas said Sryotenko had immediately "put his hands up" to gardaí in relation to this event and at no point tried to apportion blame elsewhere. "He at all stages expresses he is responsible and hopes the victim will recover," said counsel.

The lawyer told the judge that his client accepts he carried out this very serious assault but said he did not have an intention to kill.

He said it was "unfortunate and grim" that the couple started off "in a very positive way with a real romance" and had formed a loving relationship from 2022 to 2023.

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

The barrister said Pavlenko told gardaí that prior to the incident, Sryotenko had a change of personality, was not sleeping and that she was worried about him.

"She said he was mixing up reality with imagination and that this was not the man she knew," he said.

Counsel described the events of that day as shocking and terrifying. He said the assault went uninterrupted for quite some time and it was only when the defendant's son came into the bedroom that things came to an end.

"It is a troubling case in many ways," he said.

He submitted that whilst his client owned up to the assault, he still had difficulty in accepting his plea "to the intention".

Counsel described Pavlenko's statement as "very elegant and kindly crafted". Nicholas asked the judge to take into account his client's guilty plea and lack of previous convictions.

Keane remanded Sryotenko in custody until March 26th, when he will be sentenced.

Sentencing hearing

In her victim impact statement delivered last month, 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.

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

Sryotenko has no previous convictions. 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.