Handing out rubles and calling to the "Russian world": court sentences former Kherson deputy

Former deputy from Kherson region Serhiy Zmiievsky, who headed the Russian administration in Rakivka during the occupation, settled in Russia after fleeing Ukrainian army strikes and became an expatriate blogger. Now he shoots videos about Kuban gardens, complains about lack of money and is outraged that Russians call him a "drone."

This was reported by Intent with reference to the verdict of the Velyko Oleksandrivskyi District Court of Kherson Region.

According to the investigation, after the capture of the Beryslav district by Russian troops, the man voluntarily agreed to become the so-called "head of the Rakiv village council of the civil-military administration". Witnesses said that he introduced himself as the "starosta" or "head" of the village, contacted the Russian military and actually performed the functions of the occupation authorities.

According to the Evocation.info resource, this is Serhiy Zmiievsky, who began to voluntarily cooperate with the Russian occupiers, supported the ideas of the "Russian world" and the occupation. Together with his son, he passed the coordinates of the Ukrainian military to the enemy, using a quadcopter received from the occupation authorities for reconnaissance. He also provided the occupiers with places of residence, provided addresses of law enforcement officers, ATO/JFO participants and their families, and spread Russian propaganda about the Ukrainian armed forces' strikes. After the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked Russian positions, he left Rakivka and moved to Feodosia.

Local residents stated in court that the accused organized the distribution of humanitarian aid from Russia, as well as the distribution of 10 thousand Russian rubles in exchange for copies of Ukrainian passports and identification codes. According to witnesses, he persuaded people to apply for Russian documents and said that "Russia is here forever."

Separately, the case file refers to his attempts to organize the work of the school according to the Russian program. According to witnesses, the man was looking for teachers to teach according to Russian standards, but he was unable to realize this because the teachers refused to cooperate with the occupation authorities.

According to the CJR, Zmievsky was a deputy of the former Rakiv village council, a member of the Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, worked in law enforcement, and later became a pensioner and veteran of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Local residents had long associated him with pro-Russian views.

After fleeing, he first stayed in the occupied Crimea, and later moved to the Krasnodar Territory. There, the former occupation official continued to run his own YouTube channel, which was previously dedicated to beekeeping and travel.

Now his videos are dominated by stories about the nature of the Kuban, apple prices, Russian "victory day" celebrations and everyday life in Russia. He does not hide the fact that he exists mainly on donations from his viewers, complains about the lack of money, but at the same time states that he is not used to working and does not plan to.

The court found the man guilty of collaboration and sentenced him in absentia to 10 years in prison with confiscation of all his property. His car was seized to secure the confiscation of his property.

Also, in the case of Kherson City Council deputy Ilya Karamalikov, who is accused of high treason, the court heard one of the last defense witnesses. An entrepreneur from Kherson said that during the occupation, the deputy allegedly helped with the evacuation of Ukrainian soldiers and did not demonstrate a pro-Russian position.

Анна Бальчінос