It has been a month since Ms. Alina from Mykolaiv received documents that were important to her family—her mother’s death certificate. For almost six months, the woman visited various government agencies, collected the necessary certificates, searched for witnesses, constantly consulted with lawyers, and attended more than one court hearing. The whole problem was that Ms. Alina’s mother died in a temporarily occupied territory, so it was very difficult to prove this fact and obtain the documents. The woman’s father had begun to deal with this issue, but unfortunately, he did not manage to see it through to the end and passed away. Therefore, for Ms. Alina, the case her father had started was extremely important.
“Now I can say how fortunate it was that my father turned to your Charitable Foundation. How fortunate that such specialists exist. They help people, advise them, and guide them. On my own, I would never have achieved justice, endured all these court rejections, constant searches for witnesses, and a whole bunch of incomprehensible documents. Thanks to your lawyers, I now have my mother’s death certificate,” — Alina shares with tears in her eyes.
The story of Alina’s mother
Mr. Mykola contacted the Stabilization Support Services Charitable Foundation in the spring of 2025. During a visit by the project’s lawyers to one of the villages in the Snigurivka community in the Mykolaiv region, they were providing free legal consultations. The man said that he could not obtain a death certificate for his wife, who had died in the occupied territories almost three years ago, and asked for help.
“Mr. Mykola described everything to us as it was. On November 8, 2022, his wife went to the store to buy bread. The village had been under occupation for more than six months. By that time, people had already realized that it was better to stay at home and not walk the streets unnecessarily, but there was not a crumb of bread at home. Just as she arrived at the local store, shelling began. As a result, the woman was seriously injured. She was taken to a hospital in the city of Kakhovka along with the rest of the injured Russian soldiers who were also in the store at the time. A few days later, she was transferred to a hospital in the city of Henichesk, Kherson region. Unfortunately, due to the severity of her injuries and the delay in providing assistance, his wife died,” — says Lilia Bakay, a regional lawyer in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions.
The lawyers of the Charitable Foundation provided the man with professional advice and began working on the case. But after a few weeks, Mr. Mykola’s daughter, Alina, contacted the lawyers. She informed them that her father had unexpectedly passed away and that she would now be handling the family’s affairs.
“It’s good that my dad managed to contact the lawyers and gave me all the contacts and information. He must have had a feeling in his heart. So for me, it was extremely important to see his case through to the end. At that time, I had no idea how long the road ahead of us would be,” — recalls Alina.
Working with lawyers
The first thing Ms. Alina did with our Fund’s specialist was to file a petition with the court to establish the fact of her mother’s death in the temporarily occupied territory. But a month later, the court rejected the petition without even considering it. The lawyers and Ms. Alina filed an appeal. The court upheld the appeal and referred the case back to the court of first instance for further consideration. However, it was too early to rejoice. The Snigurivka District Court refused the woman’s request and ruled to close the case.
“To be honest, when the court rejected our appeal for the second time, I began to lose hope. The court told us that there was insufficient evidence. They required someone to have witnessed my mother’s death or to provide a death certificate from the occupied territory. However, it was not possible for me to obtain such documentation. I wasn’t going to go to the occupied territory to get the documents. Almost by accident, I met a woman who gave me the contact details of a doctor from the city of Henichesk. He was the one who operated on my mother. The doctor confirmed that she had died, but refused to photograph and send the death certificate. The situation was saved by my fellow villagers, who were in the hospital with my mother at the time. They were able to confirm her death,” — Alina shares.
During the third hearing of the case, the Snigurivka District Court granted Alina’s request in full.
Explanation from a lawyer
“Unfortunately, in the context of war and the temporary occupation of Ukrainian territory, the issue of establishing the fact of death in the event of a person’s death is very problematic. The first thing to do in such a situation is to file a statement with the court at the place of residence. The application must be accompanied by evidence, including originals and copies of medical documents, including those drawn up in the occupied territories, audio and video recordings, explanations and testimonies of persons who can provide useful information, and other documents that can confirm the time and place of death. Very often, the court rejects the case due to insufficient evidence. But in such a case, you should not give up. You can always file an appeal, try to find more witnesses and evidence, and see it through to the end,” — emphasizes Lilia Bakay, a regional lawyer in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions.
With the help of lawyers from the Charitable Foundation, Alina received her mother’s death certificate and was able to re-register the house and land she inherited from her parents.
Free legal consultations are provided as part of a project implemented by the Charitable Foundation “Stabilization Support Services” and the German humanitarian organization “Sign of Hope” with financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO).