A masseuse from Kherson headed a community under the occupiers and was sentenced to 11 years in prison

A court sentenced a Novotroitske masseuse to 11 years in prison. A woman who worked as a masseuse in Kherson before the occupation agreed to head the occupation administration under the Russians.

This is stated in the verdict of the Kherson City Court.

According to the CHR, it is Yevhenia Kuzmenko, born in 1989, a native and resident of Kherson. In April 2023, the occupation authorities appointed her as the head of the Novotroitsk community, and in October of the same year she again received this position under the title "head of the Novotroitsk municipal district".

The court found that Kuzmenko actively cooperated with the occupation regime. She took part in public events, spread anti-Ukrainian narratives and was involved in organizing illegal elections of the President of the Russian Federation and State Duma deputies in the temporarily occupied territory of Kherson region.

Witnesses in court confirmed that at the time of the occupation, Kuzmenko did not live in Novotroitske and returned there after Russian control was established. It was also reported that the woman had studied and worked at a theological seminary in Russia for a long time.

After being appointed to the position, she, according to eyewitnesses, robbed local residents, moved Russian military into other people's apartments and participated in propaganda events in Moscow. Prior to her appointment as a Gauleiter, Kuzmenko worked at the occupation employment center, which opened in the summer of 2022.

The prosecutor's office insisted on 12 years in prison with confiscation of property, but the court limited the sentence to 11 years in prison without additional property sanctions. Kuzmenko was also banned from holding any public office or providing public services for 15 years after serving his sentence. The sentence has not yet entered into force.

Yevhenia Kuzmenko comes from a well-known family in the community. Her father is Mykola Kuzmenko, a pro-Russian dean of the Novotroitsk district and archpriest of the Novokakhovka diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate, which is part of the Russian Orthodox Church. Before the occupation, Kuzmenko worked as a masseuse in Kherson.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor's office brought to court the case of a 62-year-old teacher from Kherson who headed a department at the occupiers' pseudo-university and implemented Russian standards. She will be tried for collaboration.

Ірина Глухова