Ex-railroad dispatcher from Kherson region to spend 11 years in prison for aiding Russians

The Kherson City Court has sentenced Olga Arsenenko, a former dispatcher of the Kherson branch of the Kyiv-Dnipro Interbranch Enterprise of Industrial Railway Transport, who collaborated with the occupiers.

The court' s verdict, published on the website of the Unified State Register of Court Decisions, states that after the start of the full-scale invasion, Arsenenko was promoted by the occupiers to the position of the so-called head of the illegally created "Interbranch Enterprise of Industrial Railway Transport" in Kherson. In this position, from June to November 2022, the woman helped the occupation authorities restore and organize the railway connection between Kherson region and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea to ensure the transportation of equipment and personnel of the Russian Armed Forces to the territory of the region.

During the court hearing, Arsenenko pleaded not guilty and explained that she accepted the position of occupation chief after armed Russian soldiers came to her home, offered her a job, and beat her husband. At first, the woman did not want to accept the job offer, but then she agreed and wrote a statement.

However, the court found Olha Arsenenko guilty of aiding the aggressor state and sentenced her to 11 years in prison, with the deprivation of the right to hold any position in public authorities for a period of 12 years, without confiscation of property. Since the woman was detained on December 30, 2022, the sentence will be calculated from that day.

Earlier, the Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa fully acquitted Aliona Talko, a resident of the village of Shyroka Balka in the Stanislavska community of Kherson district, who was accused of collaboration for her participation in the pseudo-referendum. The court found that the woman had acted under duress by the occupiers and released her from custody.

Another resident of the Kherson region, who was found guilty by the court of first instance of helping the Russians to hold an illegal referendum, did not plead guilty in court and tried to appeal the verdict in the appellate instance. However, in this case, the appellate court upheld the verdict and dismissed the appeal.

Олеся Ланцман