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A prominent Ukrainian anti-corruption activist has died, three months after she was injured in an acid attack.

Kateryna Handzyuk, 33, suffered burns over 40% of her body and severe eye damage as a result of the assault on 31 July in the southern city of Kherson.

Ms Handzyuk, who was also a Kherson city council member, had undergone 11 operations in the capital Kiev.

President Petro Poroshenko on Sunday called for the killers to be punished. Five suspects are already in custody.

The exact cause of Ms Handzyuk's death was not immediately known, but reports in local media suggested it was a blood clot.

In September, the activist - who also campaigned against Russian-backed separatism - posted a video in which she urged Ukrainians to fight rampant corruption.

"I know I look bad now. But at least I'm being treated," she said. "And I definitely know that I look much better than justice in Ukraine. Because nobody is treating it."

The death of the activist on Sunday triggered an avalanche of reactions on social media in Ukraine, with many users expressing shock.</s>A Ukrainian anti-corruption activist has died from wounds caused by an acid attack, sparking local protests and concern from European officials over growing violence against civil society.

Kateryna Handzyuk’s investigations into police graft and political corruption in her native Kherson, a Black Sea port, had angered local officials. In late July, a man doused her with a litre of sulphuric acid when she left her house.

Handzyuk suffered burns to more than 30% of her body. She continued to speak out against corruption from her hospital bed and called for a thorough investigation into her attackers. She had 11 operations before she finally succumbed to her injuries on Sunday.

The Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, called for the attackers to be punished. Five suspects have been arrested, including a former police officer believed to have led the assault. But it does not appear any of those arrested ordered the attack.

Meanwhile, local anger has surged. Several hundred supporters of Handzyuk gathered by the interior ministry in downtown Kiev on Sunday evening to demand that police found the killers.

Members of the European commission on Monday demanded a vigorous investigation into Handzyuk’s death.

“Attacks against #civilsociety activists are unacceptable. The perpetrators of this vicious crime must be brought to justice,” wrote Johannes Hahn, EU commissioner for European neighbourhood and enlargement negotiations, on Twitter.

The attack on Handzyuk in July came on the same day as the death of another activist who had been shot. Vitaly Oleshko, a veteran of the conflict in south-east Ukraine, had also complained about government corruption in his native Berdyansk. He was shot in the back with a hunting rifle.

Similar attacks have highlighted the pressure being put on civil organisations in Ukraine, where corrupt politicians and sharp-elbowed businessmen are suspected of curbing scrutiny with gangland methods.

Handzyuk was a well-known activist who was also a member of Kherson’s city council. In one of her investigations, she accused a local police official, Artem Antoschuk, of taking a 3% cut of all local business deals and government contracts.

Speaking with Ukrainian broadcaster Hromadske from her hospital bed in late September, she said she believed the attack against her was an attempted assassination.

“Why do I consider this an attempt to kill me?” said Handzyuk. “Because they poured the acid on my head. If they wanted just to scare me, it would be on the arms, legs, face.”

Handzyuk added that she was still in deep pain from the acid, saying one had to “be patient”.

She called on the presidential administration to provide political pressure to investigate attacks against local activists.

“So many attacks in such a short period of time have gone without punishment and with the connivance of the police,” she said. “I think we have to speak loudly about this at the Bankova [Ukraine’s presidential administration],.”</s>KYIV -- Kateryna Handzyuk, a Ukrainian civic activist and adviser to the mayor of the Black Sea port city of Kherson, has died from wounds she suffered from an acid attack, authorities confirmed on November 4.

The 33-year-old Handzyuk, who was known for her scathing criticism of police corruption, was doused with sulfuric acid outside of her Kherson home on July 31 by an unknown attacker.

Her death comes amid a wave of attacks against Ukraine’s civic activists, with rights campaigners claiming law-enforcement agencies have failed to thoroughly investigate the cases and may even be complicit in some of the attacks.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, speaking during his trip in Turkey, expressed his condolences to Handzyuk’s family and called on law-enforcement agencies to do everything in their power to bring her killer to justice.

Handzyuk suffered severe burns to nearly 40 percent of her body and lost sight in one of her eyes after the acid attack, according to doctors who treated her at a burn center in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

Doctors performed 11 surgical operations to try to save her life. From her hospital bed, Handzyuk vowed to track down her attackers.

Police initially listed the case as hooliganism but changed it to attempted murder committed with extreme cruelty after public outcry.

Ukrainian lawmaker Olena Sotnyk on November 4 renewed her previous call for a special investigative committee to be formed in parliament to probe her case.

Local and international civil society groups have recorded at least 55 unsolved attacks against activists, including on Handzyuk, since 2017.

In recent months, protesters demanding a proper police response have gathered outside government buildings across the country in a campaign dubbed “silence kills.”

Yuriy Lutsenko, Ukraine’s prosecutor general and a presidential appointee, caused uproar after one of the protests in September, when he said activists were themselves partly to blame because they “stir up” an “atmosphere of total hatred toward the authorities.”

Handzyuk was stinging in her criticism of police corruption.

In September 2017, she accused Artem Antoshchuk, a department head in the Kherson Regional Police, of demanding a 3 percent cut from all contracts and tenders in the region.

The accusation led to a fierce court battle, which she won.

Police have arrested several suspects believed to have carried out the attack, but no information about who ordered the assault has been uncovered.

Stills from a CCTV camera published by local media appear to show the alleged attacker running away from the scene of the crime.

Six weeks before her death, Handzyuk recorded a video message for Hromadske TV from her hospital bed. Wrapped in bandages, she said she was certain the attack was meant to kill her.

“Why do I consider it to be assassination attempt? Because the acid was poured on my head,” she said. “If someone wanted to warn or silence me, they could have targeted my arms, legs, or face -- anywhere. But they poured a liter of acid on my head.”

Before she signed off, she added: “Yes, I know that I look bad now. But I’m sure that I look much better than law and justice in Ukraine,” she said. “Because they aren’t treated by anyone.”</s>Ukrainian anti-corruption campaigner Kateryna Gandzyuk, seriously injured in an acid attack in July, has died in hospital, supporters and the government said Sunday.

"Katya (Kateryna) is dead. Details will be available in a while," posted a Facebook group that publishes updates about Gandzyuk's health and news on the investigation into the shock attack in the ex-Soviet country.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko confirmed the news and offered condolences to Gandzyuk's relatives at a meeting with representatives of the Ukrainian community in Turkey's Antalya, where he is on an official visit.

"I appeal to law enforcement officers to do everything possible so that the murderers of Kateryna Gandzyuk are found, put on trial and punished," Poroshenko tweeted.

Johannes Hahn, the EU commissioner responsible for bloc enlargement negotiations and neighbourhood policy, said he was saddened by the news from Ukraine.

Gandzyuk, 33, who worked as an adviser to the mayor of Ukraine's southern city Kherson, was leaving home early on the morning of July 31 when a man poured about a litre of acid over her and ran away.

Gandzyuk was immediately hospitalised in a serious condition, with burns on 30 percent of her body, including her upper torso, arms, and face.

Gandzyuk was an outspoken critic of corrupt practices in law enforcement agencies, particularly the police.

The country has seen an increase in attacks on anti-corruption activists and campaigners.

Journalist Pavel Sheremet was killed by a car bomb in 2016 while driving near his home in Kiev.

In 2017, the stabbed body of human rights activist Iryna Nozdrovska was found in a river outside Kiev.

In July, Vitaliy Oleshko, a former volunteer fighter in the rebel Ukrainian east and a local activist, was shot dead outside a hotel in the southeastern city of Berdyansk.</s>Hundreds of protesters congregated in the Ukrainian capital Sunday following the death of a prominent anti-corruption activist who was targeted in an acid attack this summer.

Kateryna Handziuk died Sunday in a hospital where she was receiving treatment following an acid attack on July 31, the Associated Press reports.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called on the country’s authorities to “do everything possible to find the murderers, to punish them, and put them on the defendants’ bench,” Voice of America reports.

Handziuk, 33, was a prominent activist and aide to the mayor of the southern Ukrainian port city of Kherson. She suffered severe burns to nearly 40% of her body and lost sight in one of her eyes after being doused with sulfuric acid, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

From her hospital bed, Handziuk had vowed to find her attackers. “Yes, I know that I look bad now,” she wryly told supporters in September, according to RFE/RFL. “But I’m sure that I look much better than law and justice in Ukraine.”

Police have detained five suspects, but the investigation has not identified a ringleader. In August, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko alleged that separatist organizations were behind the incident, according to AP.

Handziuk’s death is the latest blow to political activists and human rights defenders in Ukraine, who have been targeted in a string of recent attacks. In September, activist Oleg Mykhailyk was shot near his home in Odessa, local newspaper The Kyiv reported. Mykhailyk was the leader of the “Syla Lyudey” (Power of the People) civil society group and an outspoken critic of Odessa mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov, according to the .

Demonstrations calling for investigations into the attacks have become known as the “Silence Kills” campaign.

In a statement posted by the U.S. Embassy in Kiev’s Twitter account Sunday, Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch expressed her “condolences and deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Kateryna Handziuk” and reiterated calls for “the Ukrainian authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.”</s>KIEV, Ukraine — Several hundred people have gathered outside the Ukrainian Interior Ministry headquarters after the death of an anti-corruption activist who was attacked with acid three months ago.

Kateryna Handziuk died on Sunday in a hospital where she was being treated for burns from the July 31 attack.

Police detained five people in the case, including the alleged assailant. They have not identified anyone suspected of ordering the attack on Handziuk, who was an aide to the mayor of the city of Kherson as well as an activist.

The people honouring Handziuk on Sunday called for intensified efforts to find those responsible.

Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said in August that separatist organizations were believed to have been involved, with the aim of destabilizing southern Ukraine. Kherson is a significant port city.</s>Ukrainian anti-corruption activist Kateryna Handziuk died on Sunday from injuries suffered in an acid attack, increasing pressure on officials who are accused of doing little to stop violence against the country’s embattled civil society.

Ms Handziuk underwent at least 11 operations since July 31st, when someone poured sulphuric acid over her head as she left home for work in the southern city of Kherson, where she was also an adviser to the local mayor.

Five men have been detained over the attack, but Ms Handziuk shared the scepticism of many observers over whether they were actually linked to the crime, and whether police and officials really wanted to catch the culprits.

Despite suffering burns to about 35 per cent of her body, Ms Handziuk (33) corresponded with journalists from hospital in Kiev and recently made a short video address condemning the state of Ukraine’s justice system.

“Yes, I know that I look bad now,” she told Ukraine’s Hromadske television, speaking with difficulty and with her raw wounds clearly visible.

“But at least I’m being treated. And I’m sure I look better than justice and the judicial system in Ukraine, because no one is making them better,” she said in late September.

“There have been over 40 attacks [on activists] in the last year. Who ordered these attacks? Who is covering up for those who ordered them? Why are investigations being blocked?” she asked.

In other interviews, Ms Handziuk said it was pointless to complain about graft and other crimes to the police in Kherson, because the service was intertwined with crime gangs and corrupt politicians, who in turn could act with impunity as long as they showed loyalty and delivered votes to their party bosses in Kiev.

Four years after Ukrainians revolted against corruption and oligarchic rule, Ms Handziuk’s death will ramp up pressure on politicians finally to crack down on endemic graft ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections next year.

President Petro Poroshenko on Sunday called on law enforcement agencies “to do everything possible to ensure that the killers are found . . . and punished.”

“Something is not right . . . when the best people are losing their lives in a daily battle,” she added.

Journalists face similar dangers to activists in Ukraine, where their national union says 143 reporters have been attacked since the start of 2017, with only 14 of those cases going to court.</s>KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Several hundred people have gathered outside the Ukrainian Interior Ministry headquarters after the death of an anti-corruption activist who was attacked with acid three months ago. Kateryna Handziuk died on Sunday…

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Several hundred people have gathered outside the Ukrainian Interior Ministry headquarters after the death of an anti-corruption activist who was attacked with acid three months ago.

Kateryna Handziuk died on Sunday in a hospital where she was being treated for burns from the July 31 attack.

Police detained five people in the case, including the alleged assailant. They have not identified anyone suspected of ordering the attack on Handziuk, who was an aide to the mayor of the city of Kherson as well as an activist.

The people honoring Handziuk on Sunday called for intensified efforts to find those responsible.

Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said in August that separatist organizations were believed to have been involved, with the aim of destabilizing southern Ukraine. Kherson is a significant port city.

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>Ukraine’s leaders face domestic and international demands to protect its civil society and end the impunity of powerful criminals, following the death of activist Kateryna Handziuk from injuries suffered in an acid attack.

Ms Handziuk (33) died on Sunday, three months after someone poured sulphuric acid over her head outside her home in the southern city of Kherson, where she was an adviser to the mayor and campaigned against police and political corruption.

From her hospital bed in Kiev, she had called for urgent action over the assaults on more than 40 Ukrainian activists in the past year, and expressed doubts about whether five men arrested for the attack on her were actually involved in it.

There have also been more than 140 attacks on journalists in Ukraine since the start of 2017, and only 14 of those cases have gone to court, adding to a sense that police and officials are unable or unwilling to defend those who expose the lucrative links between politics, business, security and crime in Ukraine.

“We expect the Ukrainian authorities to redouble their efforts to quickly and thoroughly investigate this crime and bring those responsible to justice,” a spokesman for the European Commission said on Monday.

“Moreover, tangible steps are needed to prevent attacks against civil society activists and investigative journalists in Ukraine,” Ukrainian media quoted him as saying.

The US ambassador to Kiev, Marie Yovanovitch, urged Ukraine to “bring the perpetrators to justice, including those who ordered the attack [on Ms Handziuk]”.

Similar demands came from other western states that are helping Ukraine counter deep economic problems and Russian aggression, ramping up pressure on Kiev’s leaders ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections next year.

President Petro Poroshenko and his allies insist they are committed to fighting crime and corruption, but high-profile murders remain unsolved and no senior officials or businessmen have been jailed since the 2014 Maidan revolution, when Ukrainians rallied in huge numbers for a more equitable society.

While Mr Poroshenko and his government have made some economic reforms on pain of losing western cash, anti-corruption efforts are repeatedly stymied and activists and journalists face growing pressure from thugs and courts alike.

A group of reformist deputies in Ukraine’s parliament say they have been trying for almost a fortnight to have parliament create a temporary investigative committee to look into the recent violence against activists.

“The two biggest parliamentary groups – the Petro Poroshenko Bloc and People’s Front – which control all the security and law-enforcement agencies in the country, ignored the creation of the committee,” said deputy Mustafa Nayyem.

Dozens of civil society groups, meanwhile, jointly demanded the sacking of Kherson police chiefs for “sabotaging the investigation into the attack” on Ms Handziuk, as well as the resignation of Ukraine’s interior minister and prosecutor general for “sabotaging the reform of law-enforcement agencies in Ukraine”.</s>Anti-corruption campaigner Kateryna (Katya) Gandzyuk, injured in an acid attack in July, died in a hospital, supporters and the Ukrainian government confirmed.

“Katya is dead. Details will be available in a while,” posted a Facebook group that publishes updates about Gandzyuk‘s health and news on the investigation into the crime.

President Petro Poroshenko confirmed the news and offered condolences to Gandzyuk‘s relatives at a meeting with representatives of the Ukrainian community in Turkey’s Antalya, where he is on an official visit.

“I appeal to law enforcement officers to do everything possible so that the murderers of Kateryna Gandzyuk are found, put on trial and punished,”

“Katya’s death is a judgement of the system, with all its “reforms,” empty bravado, worthless praise...” wrote Yulia Timoshenko in her Twitter micro blog.
Kateryna Handzyuk, an anti-corruption activist, dies of the injuries that she suffered in an acid attack on 31 July in Kherson.