In Chornomorsk, a man was sentenced to five years for disclosing the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces

The Black Sea City Court of Odesa Oblast sentenced a resident of the village of Malodolynske to five years in prison for disseminating information about the location of a unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The man conveyed this information by phone to another person, using veiled language. The verdict was handed down on November 4, 2026.

As stated in the court ruling, in early May 2025, the man independently discovered the temporary deployment location of a military unit in the Malodolynske area. On May 8, during a phone conversation, he shared information about the military’s location with the person on the other end of the line.

During their conversation, the men did not refer to the facility directly but used the terms “kids,” “children,” and “real kids.” The court concluded that in this way, they were attempting to distinguish between civilian children and military personnel. The interlocutors also discussed whether a certain facility was being used for its intended purpose and mentioned the need to monitor another area.

The defendant denied the charges. He explained that the conversation concerned finding a location for a children’s sports camp, and that references to “children” referred to children of various ages. The man also claimed that the military’s location was common knowledge among the village residents.

However, the court found these explanations illogical and inconsistent with the body of evidence. In particular, the court took into account recordings of telephone conversations, the results of covert investigative actions, and the testimony of a witness who described the defendant’s conversation partner’s interest in gathering information about military facilities.

At the same time, the court did not establish that the man intended to harm Ukraine’s defense capabilities, but concluded that he was aware of the possibility of such consequences. His actions were classified under Part 2 of Article 114-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—the unauthorized dissemination of information about the location of the Armed Forces of Ukraine under martial law.

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The court sentenced the man to five years in prison. His time in pretrial detention from July 31, 2025, to September 9, 2026, was credited toward the sentence on a “day-for-day” basis. After being released from custody on bail of 266,240 hryvnias, he remained free under certain conditions, including the requirement to wear an electronic monitoring device and not to leave the community without court permission.

Once the verdict becomes final, the man is to be arrested and taken into custody to serve his sentence. The court ordered the confiscation of the Blackview phone he used as an instrument of the crime. The convicted man will also be required to pay 2,674 hryvnias in court costs.

Андрій Колісніченко