Former Crimean Minister Who Served Under the Occupation Was Detained in Kyiv

The Security Service of Ukraine detained in Kyiv the former head of the Republican Committee on Fuel, Energy, and Innovation Policy of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, who, following the occupation of the peninsula in 2014, defected to Russia and headed the occupying “Ministry” of Energy of Crimea.

This was reported by the SBU.

The SBU has not disclosed the detainee’s last name. However, according to media reports, the individual in question is Serhiy Ivanovych Kolobov.

According to the investigation, after the annexation of Crimea, the man obtained Russian citizenship and offered his services to the occupying authorities. He was subsequently appointed the so-called “Minister of Fuel and Energy of the Republic of Crimea.”

In this role, he helped the Russian administration establish control over the peninsula’s strategic energy facilities. These include, in particular, the Simferopol and Sevastopol thermal power plants, the Tavriya Thermal Power Plant, a network of solar and wind power plants, gas pipelines, gas compressor stations, as well as oil depots and oil terminals in Kerch and Feodosia.

In addition, according to the SBU, for two years after his appointment, the suspect was involved in the integration and re-registration of Crimean energy assets under Russian law.

After being dismissed from the occupying “government,” he continued to work in the interests of the Russian Federation, heading a number of companies in the extractive industry.

Law enforcement officers detained the suspect in Kyiv, where he had traveled on personal business. During searches, Russian passports, bank cards, and documents were seized from him, which, according to investigators, confirm his collaboration with the aggressor state.

<picture></picture>PHOTO: SBU

The man was informed that he is suspected of high treason (Part 1 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The court ordered him to be held in custody without the right to bail.

Recently, the occupation-appointed “Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Crimea” was sentenced to 10 years in prison for collaboration.

Additionally, for the first time in Ukraine, a judge from occupied Crimea was sentenced for violating the right of Ukrainian citizens to a fair trial. The former judge of the Russian-controlled Kyiv District Court of Simferopol was sentenced to 13 years in prison for violating the laws and customs of war.

Андрій Колісніченко