April 23, 2025, 12:01 p.m.
(Photo: Screenshot from the video)
Oleh Belyaev, an Odesa resident convicted of aiding and abetting Russia who is currently serving his sentence, spoke about his activities during the pro-Russian riots and the war against Ukraine, which he considers "provoked."
In an interview with Hromadske from the colony, Belyaev said that he collected information about Ukrainian military equipment, checkpoints, and critical infrastructure and passed this information to the enemy.
"Our task was to find out mainly about the city. All those who are very active in nationalism and fascism," he said, not hiding the fact that pro-Ukrainian activists and entrepreneurs were the targets of surveillance.
In particular, Belyaev said that he and his accomplices planned to kidnap a local businessman who, according to him, financially supported the Aidar and Azov volunteer battalions, and he attributed his defeat to betrayal.
"I was betrayed by a traitor. We wanted to capture a businessman from Odesa who was helping Aidar and Azov by financing them. We knew perfectly well that he met with the leader of the Odesa-based Right Sector, Serhiy Sternenko , and gave him a large sum of money. Thus, he helped kill Odessans. That is, not personally, but with money. He financed the Right Sector well, and recently he financed Aidar and Azov... Why do you think I've never been arrested in 8 years? Not because I'm so smart and know how to hide. It's because the relevant law enforcement officers pretended to catch us, and we pretended to hide," the collaborator said.
Belyaev also confirmed his participation in the storming of the Interior Ministry building in Odesa in 2014: "When we broke the door and went inside, we gave an ultimatum - either release our arrested people or we will take the building."
In the colony, the Odesa resident is waiting for a possible exchange, he calls himself a simple fisherman.
"Of course, I feel sorry for Odesa," he says when asked if he feels sorry for the fact that Russian missiles are flying at his city, "I feel sorry for Vinnytsia. I feel sorry for Kyiv. I feel sorry for any Ukrainian city, because people like me live there. The same children. But I understand perfectly well that Russia was provoked."
According to the prosecutor's office, the group he was a member of developed a plan to kidnap a local businessman who did not support Russia. In addition, in August 2022, they hung a Russian flag with an inscription in Russian on a house in Odesa: "Odesa is a Russian city". When asked if he regretted his actions, Belyaev said that he only regretted that he had not done enough.
Ірина Глухова