Kyiv accounts for 28% of the offenses registered in Ukraine during the first nine months of 2026 related to the forgery, destruction, or replacement of VIN codes and other vehicle identification numbers. This was reported by OpenDataBot, citing data from the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
In the first nine months of this year, 599 offenses under Article 290 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine were recorded in Ukraine. The highest number of cases was recorded in Kyiv—169. Dnipropetrovsk Oblast ranked second with 114 cases, and Odesa Oblast ranked third with 45.
In total, these three regions account for 328 cases, or about 55% of all offenses registered during this period.
Compared to the same period in 2025, the number of such offenses increased by 22%—from 387 to 599.
At the same time, the rate of cases referred to court remains low. In the first nine months of 2026, only five criminal cases under Article 290 of the Criminal Code were referred to court—about 1% of the total number of offenses recorded during this period.
In total, from 2020 through September 2026, 11,417 such offenses were recorded in Ukraine. 7,152 cases remain on record, and 69 cases have been referred to court over nearly seven years.
The destruction, forgery, or alteration of a vehicle’s identification number is punishable by a fine ranging from 2,550 to 4,250 UAH, community service for up to two years, probation, or restriction of liberty for up to three years.
Source: OpenDataBot.
