Border guard deserted from Kherson to the occupiers on the first day of the war

In the Kherson region, a border guard inspector is suspected of desertion on the first day of the full-scale invasion. Since then, he has been hiding in the occupied territory, evading service.

This is evidenced by the suspicion of the Prosecutor General's Office.

The State Bureau of Investigation has served a notice of suspicion to 31-year-old Mykola Cherepanov, a resident of Kherson region and an inspector of the 79th Border Guard Detachment.

Investigators believe that on February 24, 2022, the day the full-scale war began, he arbitrarily left the location of his military unit in Kherson and has been evading military service since then.

According to the investigation, at the time of his desertion, Cherepanov was serving under contract as a dog training instructor at the Preobrazhenka Border Guard Service Department.

He was provided with all the necessary resources - money, material, food - but, according to law enforcement, he deliberately decided not to fulfill his duties and not to participate in hostilities.

After his escape, he settled in the temporarily occupied territory - in the village of Shchaslyve, Kalanchak community, where he still lives. During this time, he did not provide the military leadership with any documents that could justify his absence, and did not attempt to return to service or contact the Ukrainian authorities, although he had the opportunity to do so.

He is charged with desertion under martial law, a crime under Part 4 of Article 408 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Under this article, he faces 5 to 12 years in prison.

In early February, the former senior dog handler of one of the military units of the National Guard of Ukraine was notified of suspicion of treason and desertion. According to the investigation, on February 24, 2022, the staff sergeant did not report for duty and actually escaped from the military unit in Kherson. In May of the same year, he went over to the enemy and began working as a dog handler in the illegally created occupation "Dog Training Center".

Анна Бальчінос