A former Odessa City Hall official praised the Russians for their offensive and welcomed the occupation

Law enforcement officials have exposed a former official of the Odesa City Council who publicly and joyfully welcomed the occupation of Ukrainian territories and thanked the enemy for the offensive.

This was reported by the Odessa Regional Prosecutor’s Office.

The individual in question is the former head of a department at the Primorsky District Administration of the Odesa City Council.

According to the investigation, the 57-year-old Odessa native held a position in local government while simultaneously participating in an enemy propaganda Telegram channel. More than 1.5 million people are subscribed to this channel.

It has been established that from December 2025 through January of this year, the woman repeatedly commented on posts in the aforementioned channel from her phone. In particular, she spoke favorably about the enemy’s actions during battles with Ukrainian troops in the eastern regions of the country.

In addition, the suspect publicly supported the aggressor’s armed forces, thanked them for their offensive, and expressed joy over the temporary occupation of part of Ukrainian territory. At the same time, she was aware that an unlimited number of people could read her messages.

A forensic linguistic analysis confirmed the criminal nature of her actions. The suspect has since resigned from her position of her own accord.

She is charged with justifying, legitimizing, and denying the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine, committed by a public official using the media (Part 3 of Article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

According to the SBU, another supporter of the enemy—a local unemployed woman—was detained in Kherson. She registered with an enemy chatbot to pass intelligence to Russian agents about the situation in the frontline city.

Investigators determined that Russian special services are using this online platform to gather information about the Defense Forces and members of the resistance movement on the left bank of the Kherson region.

<picture></picture>Arrest of a propagandist in Kherson. Photo: SBU

During searches, police seized phones and computer equipment containing evidence of criminal activity from the detainees.

The Kherson resident was also notified of the charges against her.

<span>The suspects face 8 to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property.</span>

Ірина Глухова