Former head of the Crimean district department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs convicted of high treason

In 2014, the former head of the Simferopol District Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine sided with the occupation authorities and headed the Russian police department in Simferopol. He was sentenced in absentia to imprisonment for assisting the aggressor state against Ukraine.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations.

Prosecutors found that in 2014 he agreed to the invaders' proposal and headed the Ministry of Internal Affairs department in Simferopol. Through his activities, he contributed to the strengthening of the Russian occupation regime on the peninsula, assisting representatives of the aggressor state and directly participating in the work of illegally created law enforcement agencies.

The special pre-trial investigation was conducted by the Investigative Unit of the SBU Main Directorate in the AR of Crimea. The SBU reported that the convict is in the temporarily occupied territory, and law enforcement officers continue to take measures to detain him and bring him to justice for his crimes against Ukraine.

According to OSINT, it is Serhiy Nikolayev, who was appointed acting head of the Simferopol city police department in March 2014. Prior to that, he headed the Simferopol District Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. His appointment took place as part of the formation of the leadership of Russian law enforcement agencies on the peninsula, when some former Ukrainian law enforcement officers joined the new structures.

The former head of the district department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was found guilty of high treason. The court sentenced him in absentia to 13 years in prison, confiscation of property and deprivation of the special rank of "lieutenant colonel of police".

Since the beginning of 2025, the SBU has exposed 147 people cooperating with the occupation authorities in Crimea and has already received 32 court verdicts. Among them are officials of the occupation administrations, organizers of fake elections, propagandists and participants in cases of looting of archaeological heritage. In particular, 54 suspects are representatives of illegal administrations, courts and armed groups, 59 are organizers of fake elections and so-called deputies, as well as 12 Crimeans who voluntarily assisted Russian military groups.

Анна Бальчінос