The Primorsky District Court of Odessa sentenced Serhiy Yeliseyev, the former first deputy commander of the Ukrainian Navy, in absentia to 15 years in prison, with confiscation of property and stripping of his military rank of “vice admiral.”
This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
The court found Yeliseyev guilty of high treason, desertion, violating the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine, participating in a terrorist organization, and waging an aggressive war against Ukraine.
According to the investigation, at the start of the occupation of Crimea in 2014, Yeliseyev was effectively serving as commander of the Ukrainian Navy. However, he refused to carry out orders from Ukraine’s military and political leadership, violated his military oath, and defected to Russia.
Prosecutors proved that his actions contributed to the weakening of Ukraine’s defense capabilities, the seizure of Ukrainian military ships, and the establishment of Russian military control over the Crimean Peninsula.
After defecting to the Russian Federation in July 2014, Yeliseyev was appointed deputy commander of the Russian Baltic Fleet. He became one of the highest-ranking Ukrainian military officers to defect to the aggressor state.
Even after large-scale personnel purges in the command of the Russian Baltic Fleet in 2016, when dozens of admirals and captains were dismissed, Yeliseyev retained his position.
The prosecutor’s office also noted that the defendant publicly supported the Kremlin’s policies and is subject to sanctions by Ukraine, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and other partner states.
Recently, the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Defense in the Southern Region filed an indictment with the court against the former commander of military unit A4424—the 18th Division of Support Vessels of the Sevastopol Naval Base.
Андрій Колісніченко