In the Odesa region, a court did not sentence the organizer of the escape to Romania to prison

In Izmail, a court did not impose a harsh sentence on the organizer of the smuggling of men subject to military service across the Danube River into Romania. The defendant pleaded guilty, reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, and received a suspended sentence.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations, citing the verdict of the Izmail City and District Court in Odesa Oblast.

The defendant is a local private entrepreneur and a native of Izmail.

The court found that the man acted in collusion with several accomplices, whose cases have been separated into distinct criminal proceedings. According to the investigation, he sought out people willing to leave Ukraine illegally, explained the escape plan, coordinated their actions, and promised unimpeded passage to the crossing point.

The organizers charged $7,000 per person for their services. According to the case file, they planned to transfer part of these funds to other participants in the scheme, who were to ensure the route could be completed.

In September 2024, the organizer met one of the “clients” in Izmail and took him to a meeting point with other participants in the scheme. Later, the man, along with two other men subject to military conscription, was put in a taxi that took them to the area around the “Nibulon” port.

There, they were ordered to move a boat hidden in the reeds to the waterfront. Another accomplice was already waiting near the boat; he was supposed to ferry the men across the Danube to Romania.

However, the plan failed. State Border Service officers detained the boat along with the three men before they crossed the state border. The organizers who were accompanying the group fled.

On July 1, 2026, a plea agreement was reached between the prosecutor of the Khadzhibey District Prosecutor’s Office and the defendant. The man fully admitted his guilt and sincerely repented.

Under the terms of the agreement, the parties agreed on a sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment, with a 2-year ban on holding public office. The court exempted the man from serving the sentence in prison and placed him on probation.

The court found the man guilty under Part 3 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—organizing the illegal smuggling of persons across the state border by a group of individuals acting in concert for financial gain.

The court sentenced him to five years of imprisonment, suspended for two years, with a two-year probationary period and a two-year ban on holding public office.

The time the man spent in custody from October through December 2024 was credited toward his sentence.

The court also confiscated the defendant’s cell phones and laptop, transferring them to the state treasury. The bail of over 151,000 hryvnias, which was posted by a third party, will be transferred to the account of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Ірина Глухова