In the Kherson region, a former fisheries protection officer was sentenced to 13 years for serving the occupiers

A former hunter and fisheries protection officer joined the Russian police after part of the Kherson region was occupied. The court found him guilty of collaboration, but the defendant may have died before the sentence was handed down. 

This was reported by Intent, citing the verdict of the Kherson City Court.

According to the investigation, prior to the full-scale invasion, Oleksandr Chubenko was known to local residents as a member of a hunting club. Some witnesses also knew him from his work in fisheries protection and environmental monitoring. After Russian troops captured Novotroitsk, he switched sides and, as early as August 2022, voluntarily assumed the position of so-called “operational duty officer” in the illegal “Kherson Regional Ministry of Internal Affairs branch,” established by the occupation administration.

The man worked in the building of the former Ukrainian police station, wore a Russian-style uniform, and performed duties such as receiving reports, registering detainees, controlling access, guarding the administrative building, and other functions of the occupying force’s duty unit.

One of the key pieces of evidence was the testimony of people who personally saw him already wearing the uniform of the occupying police. One witness stated that after being detained by Russian military personnel, he was taken to the district police station in Novotroitsk, where Chubenko said he served in the occupying forces’ police and received a high salary. Another witness also confirmed that he had seen Chubenko in a Russian police uniform, and the defendant himself explained his service by citing his work for the occupying authorities and the income it provided.

During the trial, the defense argued that the man had joined the occupying police due to difficult life circumstances and the need to support his family. However, the court did not accept these arguments. Chubenko was found guilty in absentia of collaboration and sentenced to 13 years in prison, with all his property confiscated.

A resident of Kherson, who used his own motorboat to transport Russian soldiers, weapons, and ammunition across the Dnipro River, was also sentenced to 12 years in prison, with his property confiscated. 

Анна Бальчінос