Court sends Kherson gunner to prison for the rest of his life

While the Kherson region was under fire, a local resident sent the coordinates of Ukrainian positions to the Russians via Telegram. After that, the specified locations were shelled.

This is evidenced by the verdict of the Kherson City Court.

According to the case file, during the Russian occupation of Kherson region, the man passed on information to representatives of the aggressor country about the location, movement and fortification of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kherson district and the Bilozerska community. To do this, he used the Telegram messenger and sent coordinates, text messages and geolocations.

The verdict states that the defendant transmitted data on checkpoints, trenches, locations of Ukrainian military and possible artillery locations. The investigation found that his accomplice sent the information to representatives of the Russian occupation forces, and later the coordinates were used to launch attacks.

During the court hearing, the man did not admit his guilt. He stated that he had worked as a food deliveryman and music decorator in a restaurant during the occupation of Kherson, and also claimed that he had not passed information about the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to the Russians. The defense insisted that the correspondence on Telegram could have been conducted by other persons after the loss of the SIM card.

However, the court found the results of covert investigative actions, intercepted correspondence, telephone conversations, eyewitness testimony, and expert opinions convincing. In particular, the case file contained messages with geodata and references to the transfer of coordinates to the Russian side.

Witnesses in court said that during the occupation, the accused worked at events organized by the occupation authorities, contacted the Russian military and cooperated with FSB representatives. One of the witnesses stated that she saw the man sending geolocations and videos of Ukrainian checkpoints.

The court concluded that the defendant's actions were systematic and could have led to the death of people, the destruction of infrastructure, and a decrease in Ukraine's defense capabilities. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with confiscation of all his property.

A resident of Skadovsk was also sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison for treason. According to the investigation, during the occupation of Kherson region, he helped the Russian military identify pro-Ukrainian local residents.

Анна Бальчінос