Former Kherson Emergency Service Official Sentenced to 10 Years for Collaboration with Occupiers

A former official of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine from Kherson region was found guilty of collaboration. He was sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property for voluntary cooperation with the Russian occupation administrations.

The sentence was announced by the Uzhhorod City District Court.

The investigation found that the man, who held the position of deputy chief of a fire and rescue unit in Kherson, refused to evacuate the city in 2022 and voluntarily went over to the enemy. He headed the "state fire and rescue unit" created by the occupiers in the Korabelny district of the city, subordinated to the pseudo-structures of the occupation authorities. He was officially dismissed from the Ukrainian service in August 2022.

After the de-occupation of Kherson, Ukrainian law enforcement officers found documents in the building of the regional headquarters of the State Emergency Service confirming the creation of a "staff structure" of the so-called Ministry of Health under Russian control. This became a key piece of evidence in the case. Witnesses also confirmed that the former rescuer held a senior position in the occupation unit, with the rank of major.

The court decision has not yet entered into force.

Also, his colleague, a 42-year-old former employee of the State Emergency Service, who, according to the investigation, was promoted to the position of "chief" in the Kherson District Department of the occupation rescue service of the region in May 2022, faces life imprisonment.

Meanwhile, a Kherson woman who headed a lyceum under the occupiers and tried to Russify the educational process was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

A former official from the Kherson region, who headed the occupation body and provided the enemy with everything they needed, was sentenced to another 12 years in prison. The court sentenced him to 12 years in prison with confiscation of all property.

Also, the sanctioned"first deputy" of the occupation head of Skadovsk in Kherson region was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Ірина Глухова