In Odesa, a man was imprisoned for distributing videos of hostilities

In Odesa, a man was convicted of distributing a video that showed the location of Ukrainian troops during attacks. He recorded the work of air defense systems and posted the video on social media.

This was reported by the press service of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office.

Prosecutors supported the prosecution in the case against a man who published prohibited data on social media. The 37-year-old resident of Odesa region was found guilty of disseminating information about the location of the Ukrainian military and illegal storage of ammunition. The court sentenced him to five years in prison.

The investigation established that in November 2023, in Odesa, the man deliberately filmed the work of Ukrainian units during a missile and drone attack.

According to the verdict of the Peresypskyi District Court of Odesa<span>, he posted the video on TikTok under his own account, making it available to thousands of users. As a result, the video was viewed by more than 41 thousand people, 609 liked it and 85 left comments. Experts found that the video content could be used to determine the exact location of Ukrainian </span>military firing positions<span>, which posed a threat to the city's defense capabilities.</span>

The investigation also found that in 2023, the man illegally purchased and stored 11 rounds of ammunition of various calibers without permission. He could not explain where they ended up, referring to the fact that there were many people in the building where he lived and worked.

During the trial, the defendant admitted that he had posted the video, but claimed that he did not intend to reveal military positions, but did so to attract the attention of social media users. As for the ammunition, he denied his guilt and claimed that he did not know how it had ended up in the room. He also stated that he had been subjected to physical and psychological pressure during his detention.

In addition, experts confirmed that the phone and memory card used by the man contained videos of the fight and correspondence where other users called for the publication to be stopped.

The court sentenced him to 5 years in prison. The court ordered the seized ammunition and shell casings to be destroyed, and the cell phone containing the video to be handed over to the state. The other phone, which did not contain evidence, was returned to the owner. The verdict will come into force after the expiration of the appeal period, which can be filed within 30 days.

Also, the Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa found a local resident guilty of obstructing the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during a special period. According to the investigation, in December 2024 - January 2025, she posted dozens of videos on her TikTok page showing episodes of mobilization activities.

Анна Бальчінос