Former businessman from Crimea became a commander of Russian militants

The former Crimean businessman led the militants of a Russian battalion. He was found guilty of cooperation with the occupation authorities and participation in an illegal armed group.

This was reported by RIA.Pivden.

The Ukrainian court found Igor Golikov, the commander of the 2nd motorized rifle company of the so-called Melitopol "Sudoplatov's battalion", created by order of the pseudo-governor of the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region Yevhen Balytsky, guilty of cooperation in absence.

Prior to the occupation of Crimea, he headed the Bakhchisarai organization of the Ukrainian Society of Hunters and Fishermen, and was involved in business and trade. After 2014, Golikov joined the illegal formation "Self-Defense of Crimea", participated in the seizure of Ukrainian facilities, and later joined the occupation authorities - he headed the executive committee of the Bakhchisarai branch of the "United Russia" party and became a deputy of the pseudo-city council.

In 2015, Golikov was notable for a high-profile raider attack: with the support of "self-defense" militants wearing "Lions of Crimea" patches, he forcibly seized the assets of the Bakhchisarai District Consumer Union. Under the guise of "nationalization," the largest local market and a chain of stores were withdrawn from the ownership of shareholders, on the basis of which Golikov created his own company and headed it.

A few years later, in 2019, the FSB detained him for a bribe of 150 thousand rubles and fictitious payments to "dead souls." A court in Crimea found him guilty and sentenced him to two years in prison and a fine of one and a half million rubles. After his release, Golikov disappeared from the public space for almost two years.

At the end of 2022, his name reappeared, this time in Melitopol. In the photos published by Balytsky, Golikov poses among "soldiers of Sudoplatov's battalion" who are congratulating children on the New Year.

The "Sudoplatov battalion" itself is a project of Balytsky's, based in Melitopol (9 Ivan Alekseeva Street) and formally subordinated to the occupation "military-civilian administration." In reality, the unit is controlled by the Russian special services, which use it for punitive actions and to maintain power.

On Balytsky's order, the militants of Sudoplatov's battalion were engaged not only in combat operations, but also in racketeering, forced seizures of enterprises and intimidation of business. In fact, it was a private paramilitary structure under the control of a gauleiter. In April 2023, Golikov, with the call sign "Metis," was already serving as the commander of the 2nd Motorized Rifle Company BARS-32, which is how the "Sudoplatov Battalion" was renamed.

In the spring of 2024, Ukrainian investigators notified Golikov of suspicion of collaboration. According to the investigation, he had voluntarily joined the 'battalion', supervised the recruitment of recruits, organized training, distributed weapons and prepared the unit for combat operations against Ukraine.

The court considered the case in absentia because Golikov is hiding in the occupied territory. The court found him guilty and sentenced him to 13 years in prison with confiscation of all his property. Golikov is also banned from holding any government or public office for 15 years. His sentence will begin from the moment of his actual detention.

The prosecutor's office also served a notice of suspicion to the commander of the so-called "separate mobile platoon 'Sevastopol without fascism'". His duties included leading subordinate militants and executing criminal orders of the occupation authorities, including the seizure of military facilities and the identification and detention of pro-Ukrainian activists.

Анна Бальчінос