On 1 October 2026 the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Lviv sentenced Viacheslav Zinchenko, from Dnipro, to life imprisonment for the murder of the linguist Iryna Farion, Radio Svoboda reported. The verdict is not yet final: there are 30 days to appeal. Zinchenko denied the charge.
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On the same day the Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne published an interview with the convicted man’s father. It brought back a topic that had followed the trial since spring 2025: the lie detector. This article does not assess the verdict or the evidence. As a practitioner, I look only at the polygraph side of the story and at what an ordinary person can take from it.
What happened
On 13 March 2025, during a break in a court hearing, Iryna Farion’s daughter Sofiia Osoba told reporters she wanted the defendant to take a lie detector test. She asked why he would be afraid of one if he considered himself innocent. The Lviv newspaper Vysokyi Zamok reported her words.
The same day Zinchenko told reporters that nobody had offered him a polygraph test. He added that nobody would now, because the pre-trial investigation was over, according to Telegraf.
The test never took place. Suspilne states that Zinchenko did not take a lie detector test. In the interview his father, Fedir Zinchenko, explained why he distrusts the method: “A lie detector is just the subjective judgement of whoever runs it.”
So there are two opposite views. One: an innocent person has nothing to fear. The other: the result depends on who is testing. Both are oversimplified.
Is a polygraph really a “subjective judgement”?
Partly yes, partly no.
A polygraph records breathing, skin conductance and cardiovascular activity. These recordings are not judged by eye. They are scored by set rules: reactions to different questions are compared and given numerical scores. The recording is kept, so another examiner can review and score it.
Still, a lot depends on the person. The examiner words the questions, runs the pre-test interview and keeps to the method. A badly worded question gives a weak result, however precise the instrument.
Most importantly, no method is 100% accurate. A classic polygraph is 85–89% accurate (American Polygraph Association meta-analysis, 2011). The result is a probability. It is a strong argument, not a final answer.
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Can you be forced, and does refusing mean guilt?
A polygraph test is carried out only with voluntary written consent. A person can refuse before it starts or stop the test at any stage.
Refusing does not prove guilt. There can be many reasons: a lawyer’s advice, distrust of the method, health, or unwillingness to be tested under pressure. Even where a polygraph is written into service rules, a refusal is not treated as a sign that the person is hiding something. See the article on the polygraph for military personnel and service candidates.
Update, 5 October 2026. A Ukrainian example is the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) case on torture in the Berdiansk penal colony. Dmytro Mirkovets, head of the SBI Main Investigative Department, said that the colony’s managers refused a polygraph test, and after that investigators pursued the case more actively. But the charges were not built on the refusal: investigators collected more than 150 volumes of material, including testimony from former inmates and findings by doctors who matched the injuries to their accounts. In other words, for investigators a refusal is a reason to dig deeper, not evidence.
The reverse is also true: passing a test is not an acquittal. A polygraph examiner’s report is not evidence in court on its own. A court needs a forensic psychophysiological examination. More in the article on polygraph law in Ukraine. This is not legal advice.
What this means for you
“If you’re innocent, what are you afraid of?” is not said only in courtrooms. Employees hear it when money goes missing from the till. A husband or wife hears it when suspicion appears in a family.
- If you are asked to take a test. You have the right to know the question topics in advance and to refuse. In Ukraine a private company cannot dismiss you for refusing.
- If you want to back up your own words. You can take a test on your own initiative. A classic polygraph test takes 1.5–3 hours and costs 3,000–8,000 UAH (≈ €59–160); see the prices. I test in person only in Lviv. From another city or country you can take the online VerifEye test: 10–25 minutes, 84–89% accuracy according to the developer, from 2,500 UAH (≈ €50). You can also travel to Lviv, or I can recommend a fellow polygraph examiner.
- If you are an employer. Do not apply pressure. Get written consent and agree the topics beforehand. The complete guide to the polygraph test explains how the procedure works.
A practitioner’s comment
A polygraph makes sense when the person has come of their own accord and understands what they will be asked. A demand to “prove you’re not lying”, made under pressure, is a poor start for any test. One more thing: a polygraph result is a pointer to where to look next, not a verdict. A single test should not decide a person’s fate.
FAQ
Can a court order a defendant to take a polygraph test?
A polygraph test is possible only with the person’s voluntary consent. It is not carried out by force. This is not legal advice; in a specific case, speak to a lawyer.
If someone refuses, are they hiding something?
No. Refusing is a right, not a confession. Reasons vary, from a lawyer’s advice to health.
Can I take a polygraph test on my own initiative to back up my words?
Yes. But remember that an examiner’s report is not evidence in court on its own, and no method is 100% accurate.
By polygraph examiner Andriy Maryniak, in practice since 2012. Based on publications by Radio Svoboda and Suspilne of 1 October 2026; as of October 2026.
More on the topic: polygraph law in Ukraine
A similar story: he asked for a polygraph himself — does that prove innocence?
Prices: price list
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A polygraph test in Lviv — from 3,000 UAH (≈ €59); the VerifEye online test with no visit — from 2,500 UAH (≈ €50). We agree the questions before the test, and you get the conclusion on the day of testing. In another city? We will help you choose a method or recommend a fellow polygraph examiner.
Or take the VerifEye online test — no office visit, from 2,500 UAH (≈ €50)
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