INTENTIONAL MURDER IN UKRAINE: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE INDICATORS

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of intentional homicides in Ukraine for the period 2019 – August 2025, including an assessment of quantitative and qualitative indicators, seasonal and regional patterns. It was found that in the period before the full-scale armed aggression (2019–2021), there was a trend towards a decrease in the number of such criminal offenses and their intensity coefficient, which reflected the relative stabilization of the criminogenic situation.Starting from 2022, against the background of armed aggression and socio-political transformations, a rapid increase in intentional homicides, a critical load on the pre-trial investigation system, and a decrease in the effectiveness of criminal response were noted. The structure of criminal offenses against life and health was analyzed, the dominance of unqualified intentional homicides, as well as relatively rare forms of special qualification were determined. The seasonal dynamics were studied, maximum indicators were identified in the summer-autumn period, which is due to socio-domestic and natural-climatic factors. A regional analysis of the intensity of intentional murders per 100 thousand population was carried out, as a result of which the territory of Ukraine was divided into five levels of criminogenic vulnerability, with the highest indicators in the eastern and central regions. The results obtained emphasize the high level of social danger of intentional murders, their reactivity to socio-political and military factors, as well as the need to improve preventive and criminal-legal mechanisms for protecting the life and health of citizens.