MP helped to build military fortifications for the occupiers in Kherson region

Valeriy Shcherban, a deputy of the Ivanivka village council, was found guilty of high treason and aiding the aggressor state. He voluntarily cooperated with the occupiers and provided them with equipment for fortifications.

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

A deputy of the Ivanivka village council of the Henichesk district was found guilty of high treason and aiding the aggressor state. The verdict was passed under the public prosecution of the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office under Part 2 of Article 111 and Part 1 of Article 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

According to the investigation, the 63-year-old politician voluntarily agreed to cooperate with the occupiers in 2022. He took up the position of the so-called "Head of the Ivanovo Operations Department" in the Economic Unitary Enterprise "Kherson Region Water Resources Basin Management" created by the occupation authorities.

Using his official position, he transferred to the armed forces of the Russian Federation municipal equipment that was on the balance sheet of the Ivanovo Interdistrict Water Management Department. The occupiers used it to build military fortifications and transport personnel of the so-called 'People's Militia of the Donetsk People's Republic'. He also paid salaries in Russian rubles.

As it turned out, this is a deputy of the Ivanivka village council of the Henichesk district, Valeriy Shcherban, who was recalled from the Servant of the People party in early 2025. As noted in the report, since August 2022, he has been out of contact with the party - he has deleted himself from general chats and is outside the territory controlled by Ukraine. Thus, he lost contact with the local organization that nominated him as a candidate and with voters.

In 2023, he was notified of being suspected of treason and aiding the aggressor state. Since then, the former MP has been hiding from the pre-trial investigation authorities.

As for his career, according to the Chesno movement, in 2020, Shcherban was elected to the Ivanivka village council from the Servant of the People party, as well as to the Ivanivka district council from the Local Self-Government Party. Since 2016, he has been the head of the Ivanivka Interdistrict Water Management Department and a member of the board of the NGO Society of Land Reclamation and Water Management in Kherson Oblast. Earlier, in 2015, he was elected to the district council from the Local Self-Government party, and in 2010 - from the Party of Regions.

The court sentenced him to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property. In addition, Shcherban was deprived of the right to hold positions in state and local government, as well as to engage in activities related to the provision of public services for 10 years. The verdict was passed in absentia, so he will serve his sentence after his arrest.

In early December, a court found guilty a former deputy of the Kherson Regional Council, Volodymyr Ovcharenko, who became one of the public faces of the invaders' propaganda during the occupation. He called on local residents to support the illegal "referendum" and promoted decisions that helped strengthen the occupiers' control over the city.

Анна Бальчінос