Cossack Leader Sentenced to 15 Years for Role in Crimea Occupation

The ataman of the public organization "Union of Cossacks of the Feodosia Region" was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was sentenced in absentia for participating in the occupation of Crimea.

According to the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, this is a citizen of Ukraine who joined the ranks of the so-called "Crimean Self-Defense" in February 2014 and, together with other "self-defense" members, participated in the blockade of military unit A2272 in Feodosia.

He also, according to the prosecutor's office, publicly called on the Ukrainian Navy to side with the occupying state, appealing to the "interests of the people of Crimea."

For his assistance in the Russian occupation of the peninsula, the man was awarded Russian "honors" - the medal "For the Defense of Crimea" and "For Valor and Merit" III degree.

The man was found guilty of encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine (Part 2 of Article 110 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), high treason (Part 1 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and participation in the activities of an armed formation not provided for by law (Part 2 of Article 260 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

He was sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.

Earlier, the prosecutor's office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea submitted to the court an indictment against two former SBU officers who, after the occupation of the peninsula, sided with Russia and began working for the Russian Federal Security Service in the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol. They are accused of persecuting Ukrainian journalists, illegal entry into homes, conducting searches, and treason.

Also, a former member of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison for treason and facilitating the violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

In addition, Ukrainian special services collected evidence against a former official who, after the annexation of Crimea, became a minister and forced local residents to pay taxes to the Russian budget. According to the investigation, until 2014, he worked for the State Tax Service of Ukraine, but after the occupation of the region he voluntarily sided with the occupiers.

Ірина Глухова