A resident of Mykolaiv, who considered himself a citizen of the Russian Federation, adjusted strikes on the city

In Mykolaiv, a court sentenced a man who passed information to Russian special services to adjust strikes on the city. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property for high treason.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations with reference to the verdict of the Zavodskyi District Court of Mykolaiv.

As the court found, in February 2023, the man voluntarily agreed to cooperate with Russian special services. While in Mykolaiv and at his place of residence, he systematically provided the Russian FSB representative with information about the location and movement of the Armed Forces units, the work of defense industry enterprises, the effects of missile and drone strikes, as well as the availability and repair of military equipment, including drones and armored vehicles.

The case file contains correspondence and voice messages in which the man described in detail the situation in Mykolaiv, Odesa and other cities of the south. In particular, he reported to his Russian curator:

• "At night, it flew around the neighborhood again, air defense was working, drones were shot down over the city."
• "After the strike, the equipment was quickly taken away, but repairs are underway on the spot."
• "It's noisy in Odesa again, you can see the activity of drones."

In addition, law enforcement officers found that the man had illegally purchased and stored firearms and ammunition. During a search in September 2024, a revolver and 25 rounds of ammunition, for which he had no permits, were seized from him.

At trial, the defendant partially pleaded guilty. He confirmed illegal possession of weapons, but denied treason, claiming that he was not a citizen of Ukraine.

The man said that he was born and lived in Kaliningrad for a long time, and later moved to Mykolaiv, from where he regularly traveled to Russia to visit his mother and friends. He said that in February 2023, he traveled to Russia via Poland, where, after warning the border guards, he met with a stranger who was interested in the situation in Mykolaiv, and then the conversation continued on Telegram.

The defendant claimed that he did not consider himself a citizen of Ukraine, as he had received a Russian passport back in 1991 and allegedly had not applied for Ukrainian citizenship, although he had lived in Mykolaiv for a long time. At the same time, the court found that in 2008 he used a Ukrainian passport to register his marriage, and the defense did not provide any evidence of renunciation of Ukrainian citizenship or its termination.

As a result, the court found the resident of Mykolaiv guilty under Part 2 of Article 111 (high treason) and Part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal handling of weapons). The man was sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of all property.

Ірина Глухова