Head of Lazurne in Kherson region sentenced for treason and lost all property

On January 14, 2026, the Kherson City Court sentenced in absentia Serhiy Belik, the legally elected head of the Lazurne village council. The official was found guilty of high treason and collaboration under Articles 111 (Part 2) and 111-1 (Part 5) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

This is stated in the verdict of the Kherson City Court in case No. 650/2618/24.

For the totality of the crimes, he was sentenced to the highest penalty - life imprisonment with complete confiscation of property and a ban on holding public office for 15 years. The court found that during the occupation, Belik voluntarily headed the so-called 'civil-military administration' of Lazurne. He took an active part in the occupiers' meetings and assisted the enemy structures. The investigation supported the prosecution with witness testimony, voice examinations and video materials from social networks, which the court recognized as proper electronic evidence, despite the defense's objections.

The convict's life story contains contradictory facts: a former law enforcement officer and ATO veteran of the National Guard, Belik twice won the election of the village head (in 2016 and 2020). In addition to his political activities, his name was previously mentioned in connection with the searches in the case of Kateryna Handziuk.

Local residents also testify that during the occupation, he helped to resettle Russian soldiers in abandoned houses and facilitated looting at enterprises. Currently, his sentence will begin from the moment of his actual detention.

Earlier, the court sentenced a resident of Kherson region for cooperating with the occupiers in an illegal law enforcement agency. Following a public prosecution by prosecutors of the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office, the man was found guilty of collaboration under Article 111-1, paragraph 7 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

In addition to a 14-year prison sentence, the court sentenced the man to full confiscation of his property and banned him from holding any positions in state or local government bodies of Ukraine for 14 years.

Investigators proved that in July 2024, the 38-year-old convict, while living in occupied Oleshky, voluntarily joined the service of the aggressor. He headed the so-called "fire and rescue unit", which is part of the structure of the illegal "Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations in Kherson region". In this position, the collaborator was engaged in the implementation of Russian standards and norms in the work of the unit, in fact contributing to the strengthening of the occupation regime in the region.

Катерина Глушко