Kherson resident sentenced to prison for helping Ukrainians obtain Russian passports

In Kherson, a court found a woman guilty of collaboration for working for the occupiers. She helped to issue Russian passports to Ukrainians in the migration service.

This is evidenced by the verdict of the Kherson City Court.

According to the investigation, from mid-July to early November 2022, the accused worked as a specialist in the passport and visa service department in the occupation authority, the "Department of the Federal Migration Service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kherson Region".

She translated Ukrainian documents into Russian, helped to prepare "address certificates" for issuing passports, and received a salary in rubles.

At the trial, the woman partially pleaded guilty. She said that from July to mid-October 2022, she voluntarily worked as a translator for the occupation body of the Russian Federation, which issued Russian passports to Ukrainians. She does not remember the exact name of the institution or whether she applied for the job, but agreed to it due to difficult family circumstances: she has two small children, one of whom is disabled, and her husband was seriously ill after surgery. After her release from Kherson, the woman voluntarily testified to the investigation several times about her work.

Witnesses confirmed that the accused presented herself as a passport office employee and agitated local residents to apply for Russian passports, promising 10 thousand rubles for this. Another collaborator, who worked with her, said that the salary of translators was about 50 thousand rubles, and that of specialists - 70 thousand. The woman's relatives claimed that her brother pushed her to work to earn money and protect the family.

The court found no circumstances that would justify the actions of the accused. She was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison, less than the statutory term, taking into account her sincere remorse, critical attitude to her actions, difficult family circumstances and active assistance to the investigation in solving serious crimes during the occupation of Kherson.

Also in February, the court allowed a special investigation into the director of a lyceum that operated during the occupation of Kherson. It is the former head of the Service for Children of the Velyko Oleksandrivskyi District State Administration of Kherson Region, Lyudmyla Ishatenko.

Анна Бальчінос