Kherson woman sentenced for working in occupation migration center

The Kherson City Court sentenced a local resident, Natalia Zheltoukhova, who voluntarily cooperated with the Russian invaders during the occupation of the city. On January 8, 2026, she was found guilty of collaboration.

This is reported by IRS-South correspondents with reference to the court verdict.

According to the resource, the convict is unemployed <b>Natalia Zheltoukhova</b>, a native and resident of Kherson.

The investigation established that in August 2022, the woman, who was unemployed at the time, joined the occupation administration. She took the position of a "passport officer" in an illegally created body of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. In this position, Zheltoukhova was directly involved in accepting documents from local residents for the illegal registration of Russian citizenship and issuing passports of the aggressor country.

Law enforcement officers detained the collaborator in early 2024, after which she was under investigation. The court confirmed her guilt in aiding the occupation authorities and facilitating the forced passportization of the region.

During the court hearing , Natalia Zheltoukhova tried to justify her cooperation with the occupiers by her difficult financial situation and alleged pressure from the invaders. She claimed that after losing her job in logistics and unsuccessful vegetable trading, she was forced to apply to the occupation employment center, where she was subsequently forced to work as a translator of documents for issuing Russian passports. According to her, she even went into hiding to avoid forced evacuation during the liberation of Kherson.

However, witnesses' testimonies refuted the version of coercion. In particular, one of the city's residents confirmed that Zheltoukhova was actively involved in the issuance of Russian passports: she accepted documents, conducted scans and fingerprinting. Without her participation in the translation of Ukrainian certificates, the occupiers did not issue their 'documents'.

Given the evidence, the Kherson City Court found the woman guilty under Part 7 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Катерина Глушко