The murder of Oksana Makar took place in March 2012 in Ukraine, garnering extensive media coverage both at home and abroad and leading to mass protests.

Oksana Makar, aged 18, was attacked by three men in the city of Mykolaiv on 8 March 2012: she was raped, strangled, set alight and left to die,[1] though she survived another three weeks after being taken to hospital.

[4] She completed only six years of schooling, ran away from the orphanage, and lived by herself at various locations being abandoned by her parents and engaged in petty theft and prostitution from the age of 11.

[13][17][18][19] After that, they took Makar who was barely conscious, moved her to a nearby construction site, wrapped her in a blanket and set her on fire that was burning during the whole night.

[1][2] Shortly thereafter it was claimed in the media that the parents of Prysiazhniuk and Pohosian were ex-government officials from the Mykolaiv area and were connected to local politicians.

[29] (In their statement the police have confirmed the claim in respect of Prysiazhniuk but stated that Pohosian's mother is a librarian and his father was a manual laborer before his death in January 2012.

[30] On 29 March, a Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesman announced that all three men had been charged with Oksana Makar's rape and murder and faced life in jail.

[1][14][26][27] According to victim's mother, Taetiana Surovytska, her connections within one of the central TV channels in Ukraine helped to ensure widespread initial media coverage.

[35] Ukrainian billionaire and member of parliament Renat Akhmetov had aided the transfer of Makar to the Donetsk Burn Center and also paid for the Swiss surgeon.

[41] Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Andriy Klyuyev expressed confidence that the perpetrators will be punished with the full extent of the law.

[38] An Honored Artist of Ukraine Anzhelika Rudnytska has stated she doesn't not believe in the execution of President Viktor Yanukovych order to ensure a full and impartial investigation of rape Oksana Makar.

Only with the knowledge that punishment is inevitable will these monsters fear to encroach on people’s lives and rights.”[25][35] On the morning of March 13, dozens of Mykolaiv residents went to the first rally next to the Central police station.

[44][45] On March 15, another rally was held in the central area of Mykolaiv, near Lenin Square, in support of Oksana Makar with a few thousand participants.

[46] Due to the resonance of the Oksana Makar assault, another, similar criminal case was revealed, involving another teenager, Aleksandra Popova, who was hospitalized on the same day and was unconscious for weeks.