Odesa military avoids prison for selling ammunition

A soldier from Odesa region will stand trial for selling combat grenades he kept at home during mobilization. He pleaded guilty and asked to take into account his service and family circumstances.

This is evidenced by the verdict of the Khadzhibey District Court.

In Odesa, a court sentenced a 37-year-old serviceman who illegally purchased, stored and sold combat grenades during mobilization.

The man worked as a rifleman in a security unit of a military unit, has a family and a minor child, and had no previous problems with the law. According to the case file, the soldier received RGO and GHO-1 grenade cases and fuses from unknown persons, which he brought home and began to store for further sale.

First, he agreed with an acquaintance to sell two grenades for 2 thousand hryvnias and handed over the ammunition to the buyer in a park on Artilleryska Street. Later, the situation repeated itself: he bought an F-1 grenade case with a fuse and an M67 grenade and sold them to the same acquaintance for 4 thousand hryvnias in the same park.

During the trial, the accused fully admitted his guilt, explaining that he agreed to the deal for the money reward of his friend, despite the fact that he knew the rules of arms trafficking. He also said that he had been serving since March 2022 and had been to various combat areas, including Kharkiv region, and asked that his service and marital status be taken into account.

The court considered the case in a special procedure, as the defendant did not deny his guilt. The court recognized sincere repentance as mitigating circumstances, and repeated crimes and a mercenary motive as aggravating circumstances.

The sale of ammunition in a rear city during the war was classified as illegal acquisition, storage, carrying and sale of ammunition under Part 1 of Art. 263 of the Criminal Code. The soldier was sentenced to 4 years in prison, but was released from actual service with a probationary period of 3 years. In addition, he has to pay the state UAH 3,565 for the examinations.

In Odesa, another soldier was tried who, while serving in the area of Novobakhmutivka in Donetsk region, found the remains of weapons and ammunition and took them for himself. He tried to sell some of the ammunition, but the court released him from actual punishment and placed him on probation for three years.

Анна Бальчінос